Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) and the Mad (French: le Fol or le Fou), was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of the House of Valois.

During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father, Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposed, as royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts.

In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his father's former advisers, known as the Marmousets. Political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet "the Beloved", but in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, Louis of Orléans.[1]

From then on, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration, during these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.[1] He could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane.[1] However, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France.

A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the king's brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the son of Philip the Bold. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a civil war between the Armagnacs (supporters of the House of Valois) and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, who was still at war with the Valois monarchy, in exchange for his support, after the assassination of John the Fearless, his son Philip the Good led Charles the Mad to sign the infamous Treaty of Troyes (1420), which disinherited his offspring and recognized Henry V as his legitimate successor on the throne of France.

When Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation.

He married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385,[4] when he was 17 and she was 14 (and considered an adult at the time). Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young. Isabeau's first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois (heir apparent), but survived only 3 months, her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388, but died in 1390. Her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389, she was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, and became Queen of England. Richard died in 1400 and they had no children. Richard's successor, Henry IV, wanted Isabella to then marry his son, 14-year-old future king Henry V, but she refused, she married again in 1406, this time to her cousin, Charles, Duke of Orléans, at the age of 17. She died in childbirth at the age of 19.

Isabeau's fourth child, Joan, was born in 1391, and was married to John VI, Duke of Brittany in 1396, at an age of 5; they had children. Isabeau's fifth child born in 1392 was also named Charles, and was Dauphin. Charles VI then became insane, the young Charles was betrothed to Margaret of Burgundy in 1396, but died at the age of 9. Isabeau's sixth child, Mary, was born in 1393, she was never married, and had no children. Isabeau's seventh child, Michelle, was born in 1395, she was engaged to Philip, son of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, in 1404 (both were then aged 8) and they were married in 1409, aged 14. She had one child who died in infancy, before she died in 1422, aged 27.

Isabeau's eighth child, Louis, was born in 1397, and was also Dauphin, he was married to the Margaret of Burgundy who had been betrothed to brother Charles, but they did not have any children before he died in 1415, aged 18.

Isabeau's ninth child, John, was born in 1398, and was also Dauphin from 1415, after the death of his brother Louis, he was married to Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut in 1415, when aged 17, but they did not have any children before he died in 1417, aged 19. Isabeau's tenth child, Catherine, was born in 1401, she was married firstly to Henry V, King of England in 1420, and they had one child, who became Henry VI of England. Henry V died suddenly in 1422. Catherine may then have secretly married Owen Tudor in 1429, and she also had children with him, she died in 1437, aged 36.

Isabeau's eleventh child, also named Charles, was born in 1403; in 1413, Queen Isabeau and Yolande of Aragon finalized a marriage contract between Charles and Yolande's daughter Marie of Anjou, Charles' second cousin. Dauphin Louis and then Dauphin John died while in the care of John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy and regent for the insane King Charles. Yolande became the protectress of Charles, who became the new Dauphin in 1417, she refused Queen Isabeau's orders to return Charles to the French Court, reportedly replying, "We have not nurtured and cherished this one for you to make him die like his brothers or to go mad like his father, or to become English like you. I keep him for my own. Come and take him away, if you dare." After the death of Charles VI in 1422, the English regents claimed the crown of France for Henry VI, then aged 1, according to the terms of the Treaty of Troyes. However, Charles, aged 19, repudiated the treaty and claimed and became King of France, as Charles VII, sparking fresh fighting with the English, he married Marie of Anjou in 1422, and they had many children, most of which died at a very early age. He died in 1461, the longest living descendant of Isabeau.

Isabeau's twelfth and the last child, Philip, was born in 1407, but died shortly after.

Charles VI was only 11 years old when he was crowned King of France, although Charles was entitled to rule personally from the age of 14, the dukes maintained their grip on power until Charles terminated the regency at the age of 21.

During his minority, France was ruled by Charles' uncles, as regents, the regents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, John, Duke of Berry, and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, Charles VI's maternal uncle. Philip took the dominant role during the regency. Louis of Anjou was fighting for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples after 1382, dying in 1384, John of Berry was interested mainly in the Languedoc,[5] and not particularly interested in politics; whilst Louis of Bourbon was a largely unimportant figure, due to his personality (he showed signs of mental instability) and his status (since he was not the son of a king).

During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing, during that time, the power of the royal administration was strengthened and taxes re-established. The latter policy represented a reversal of the deathbed decision of the king's father Charles V to repeal taxes, and led to tax revolts, known as the Harelle. Increased tax revenues were needed to support the self-serving policies of the king's uncles, whose interests were frequently in conflict with those of the crown and with each other, the Battle of Roosebeke (1382), for example, brilliantly won by the royal troops, was prosecuted solely for the benefit of Philip of Burgundy. The treasury surplus carefully accumulated by Charles V was quickly squandered.

Charles VI brought the regency to an end in 1388, taking up personal rule, he restored to power the highly-competent advisors of Charles V, known as the Marmousets,[6] who ushered in a new period of high esteem for the crown. Charles VI was widely referred to as Charles the Beloved by his subjects.

The early successes of the sole rule of Charles VI quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts of psychosis he experienced beginning in his mid-twenties. Mental illness had been passed on for several generations through his mother, Joanna of Bourbon.[citation needed] Although still called by his subjects Charles the Beloved, he became known also as Charles the Mad from then on.

Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder, although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, who had taken refuge in Brittany. John V, Duke of Brittany was unwilling to hand him over, so Charles prepared a military expedition.

Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on 1 July 1392, the progress of the army was slow, which nearly drove Charles into a frenzy of impatience.

As the king and his escort were traveling through the forest near Le Mans on a hot August morning, a barefoot leper dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled: "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back, but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for half an hour, repeating his cries.[7]

The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until one of his chamberlains and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but fell into a coma, the king had killed a knight known as "The Bastard of Polignac" and several other men.[8]

Periods of mental illness continued throughout the king's life, during one in 1393, he could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to take care of what she required so that she would leave him alone,[9] during an episode in 1395–96 he claimed he was Saint George and that his coat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it.[10] At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife nor his children. Sometimes he ran wildly through the corridors of his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up; in 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months.[11] His later psychotic episodes were not described in detail, perhaps because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions. Pope Pius II, who was born during the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his Commentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and this caused him to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break. He reportedly had iron rods sewn in his clothes, so that he would not shatter if he came into contact with another person,[12] this condition has come to be known as glass delusion.

Charles VI's secretary, Pierre Salmon, spent much time in discussions with the king while he was intermittently psychotic; in an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues.

On 29 January 1393, a masked ball, which became known as the Bal des Ardents ("Ball of the Burning Men") because of the tragedy that ensued, had been organized by Isabeau of Bavaria to celebrate the wedding of one of her ladies-in-waiting at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, at the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, the king and four other lords[13] dressed up as wild men and danced about. They were dressed "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp, so that they appeared shaggy & hairy from head to foot".[14] At the suggestion of one Yvain de Foix, the king commanded that the torch-bearers were to stand at the side of the room. Nonetheless, the king's brother Louis I, Duke of Orléans, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch in order to discover the identity of the masqueraders, and he set one of them on fire. There was panic as the fire spread, the Duchess of Berry threw the train of her gown over the king.[15] Several knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned. Four of the wild men perished: Charles de Poitiers, son of the Count of Valentinois; Huguet de Guisay; Yvain de Foix; and the Count of Joigny. Another – Jean, son of the Lord of Nantouillet – saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub.[16]

On 17 September 1394, Charles suddenly published an ordinance in which he declared, in substance, that for a long time he had been taking note of the many complaints provoked by the excesses and misdemeanors that the Jews had committed against Christians, and that the prosecutors, having made several investigations, had discovered many violations by the Jews of the agreement they had made with him. Therefore, he decreed, as an irrevocable law and statute, that thenceforth no Jew should dwell in his domains ("Ordonnances", vii. 675). According to the Religieux de St. Denis, the king signed this decree at the insistence of the queen ("Chron. de Charles VI." ii. 119).[17] The decree was not immediately enforced, a respite being granted to the Jews in order that they might sell their property and pay their debts, those indebted to them were enjoined to redeem their obligations within a set time, otherwise their pledges held in pawn were to be sold by the Jews. The provost was to escort the Jews to the frontier of the kingdom. Subsequently, the king released the Christians from their debts.

With Charles VI mentally ill, from 1393 his wife Isabeau presided over a regency counsel, on which sat the grandees of the kingdom. Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who acted as regent during the king's minority (from 1380 to 1388), was a great influence on the queen (he had organized the royal marriage during his regency). Influence progressively shifted to Louis I, Duke of Orléans, the king's brother, another contender for power, and it was suspected, the queen's lover.[18] Charles VI's other uncles were less influential during the regency: Louis II of Naples was still engaged managing the Kingdom of Naples, and John, Duke of Berry, served as a mediator between the Orléans party (what would become the Armagnacs) and the Burgundy party (Bourguignons). The rivalry would increase bit by bit and in the end result in outright civil war.

The new regents dismissed the various advisers and officials Charles had appointed, on the death of Philip the Bold in April 1404, his son John the Fearless took over the political aims of his father, and the feud with Louis escalated. John, who was less linked to Isabeau, again lost influence at court.

In 1407, Louis of Orléans was murdered in the rue Vieille du Temple in Paris. John did not deny responsibility, claiming that Louis was a tyrant who squandered money. Louis' son Charles, the new Duke of Orléans, turned to his father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for support against John the Fearless, this resulted in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War, which lasted from 1407 until 1435, beyond Charles' reign, though the war with the English was still in progress.

With the English taking over much of the country, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the royal family by negotiating with the Dauphin Charles, the king's heir, they met at the bridge at Montereau on 10 September 1419, but during the meeting, John was killed by Tanneguy du Chastel, a follower of the Dauphin. John's successor, Philip the Good, the new Duke of Burgundy, threw in his lot with the English.

In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was an agreement signed by Henry V of England and Charles VI of France, recognizing Henry as Charles' successor, and stipulating that Henry's heirs would succeed him on the throne of France, it disinherited the Dauphin Charles (with further claim, in 1421, that the young Charles was illegitimate). It also betrothed Charles VI's daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry V (see English Kings of France), the treaty disinheriting the Dauphin of France in favor of the English crown was a blatant act against the interests of France. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the mad king, when he declared himself regent, seized royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris.[19] When the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17 years old.

Charles VI died on 21 October 1422 in Paris, at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, he was interred in Saint Denis Basilica, where his wife Isabeau of Bavaria would join him after her death in September 1435.

Upon the death of Charles VI, his infant grandson, who had become King Henry VI of England at the death of his own father in August 1422, was, according to the Treaty of Troyes, also King of France, and his coronation as such took place at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris on 26 December 1431. In the meantime, the Dauphin Charles, who had settled in Bourges, Paris being occupied by the English-Bourguignons since 29 May 1418, had to wait the arrival of Joan of Arc to be taken to the cathedral of Reims for his coronation as Charles VII, King of France on 17 July 1429. During his reign, Charles VII, the (disinherited) son of Charles VI, became known as "Charles the Victorious".[20]

^Froissart's Chronicles, ed. T. Johnes, II (1855), p.550. Note that Froissart and the Religieux de Saint-Denis differ as to when the four men died. Huguet de Guisay had held the office of cupbearer of the king.

^History of the reign of Charles VI, titled Chronique de Religieux de Saint-Denys, contenant le regne de Charles VI de 1380 a 1422, encompasses the king's full reign in six volumes. Originally written in Latin, the work was translated to French in six volumes by L. Bellaguet between 1839 and 1852.

1.
Master of Boucicaut
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The Boucicaut Master or Master of the Hours for Marshal Boucicaut was an anonymous French or Flemish miniaturist and illuminator active between 1400 and 1430 in Paris. He worked in the International Gothic style and he is named after his illustrated book of hours for Jean II Le Meingre Boucicaut, Marshal of France, created between 1410 and 1415, now in the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. The Master of Boucicaut was a contemporary of the Limbourg brothers and with them belonged to the most important and he was probably the head of a productive workshop or studio in which artists fulfilled commissions for the court, the aristocracy and wealthy citizens. It is known that the artist also collaborated with the equally active Bedford Master in Paris, the Boucicaut Master was advanced in terms of his depiction of light and perspective, based partly on developments in Italian painting. Based on style, many paintings and manuscripts are attributed to the artist, la peinture en France au début du XVe siècle, le maître des heures du Maréchal de Boucicaut. Illustrations by the Master of Boucicaut, Paris, France, Librarie de lArt Ancient et Moderne. Archived from the original on approx

Master of Boucicaut
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Heures de Maréchal de Boucicaut (Hours), Scene: The Marshal of Boucicaut praying to St. Catherine
Master of Boucicaut
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A page from the Hours of Boucicaut

2.
Coronation of the French monarch
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The accession of the King of France was legitimized by coronation ceremony performed with the Crown of Charlemagne at Notre-Dame de Reims. The most important part of the French coronation ceremony was not the coronation itself, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short was the first anointed monarch in Europe, which occurred in Soissons to legitimize the accession of the new dynasty. A second coronation of Pepin by Pope Stephen II took place at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, the first coronation performed by a Pope. Since this Roman glass vial containing the balm due to be mixed with chrism, was brought by the dove of the Holy Spirit. All succeeding Kings of France were anointed with this same oil—mixed with chrism prior to their coronation, French queens were crowned either together with their husband at Rheims or alone at Sainte-Chapelle or Abbey of St. Denis. The king is crowned by the Archbishop of Reims who is assisted by four bishops of his ecclesiastical province. The established order of six bishops is, The Archbishop of Reims anoints, the Bishop of Laon carries the holy ampulla. The Bishop of Langres carries the scepter, the Bishop of Beauvais carries and shows the coat of arms or royal mantle. The Bishop of Chalons carries the royal ring, the Bishop of Noyon carries the belt. To these are added the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Remi, guardian of the ampulla. Peers are cited for the first time in 1203 and 1226, however, their first recorded participation in the coronation is made on the occasion of the coronation of Philip V of France on 9 January 1317. These are the six aforementioned ecclesiastical peers and the six lay peers, in order of protocol, the six lay peers are, The Duke of Burgundy carries the royal crown, girds the kings sword, and gives him the order of chivalry. The Duke of Normandy carries the first square banner, the Duke of Aquitaine carries the second square banner. The Count of Toulouse carries the spurs, the Count of Flanders carries the royal sword. The Count of Champagne carries the banner of war, the spiritual peerages were perpetual, and were never extinguished during the existence of the Kingdom of France. But as early as 1204, the roster of the lay peerages had been incomplete, Normandy had been absorbed into the French crown, Toulouse in 1271, Champagne in 1284. Aquitaine was several times forfeited and restored, Burgundy became extinct in 1361 and again in 1477, hence, more often than not, princes of the royal blood and high-ranking members of the nobility acted as representatives of the ancient lay peerages. Spiritual peers were also represented if their see is vacant or they are unable to attend

3.
Charles VII of France
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Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1422 to his death. In the midst of the Hundred Years War, Charles VII inherited the throne of France under desperate circumstances, in addition, his father Charles VI had disinherited him in 1420 and recognized Henry V of England and his heirs as the legitimate successors to the French crown instead. At the same time, a war raged in France between the Armagnacs and the Burgundian party. However, his political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Joan of Arc as a leader in France. Joan of Arc and other charismatic figures led French troops to lift the siege of Orléans, as well as other cities on the Loire river. With the local English troops dispersed, the people of Reims switched allegiance and opened their gates and this long-awaited event boosted French morale as hostilities with England resumed. Following the battle of Castillon in 1453, the French had expelled the English from all their continental possessions except for the Pale of Calais, the last years of Charles VII were marked by conflicts with his turbulent son, the future Louis XI of France. Born at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, the residence in Paris. He was the child and fifth son of Charles VI of France. His four elder brothers, Charles, Charles, Louis and John had each held the title of Dauphin of France in turn, all died childless, leaving Charles with a rich inheritance of titles. By 1419, Charles had established his own court in Bourges and they also decided that a further meeting should take place the following 10 September. On that date, they met on the bridge at Montereau, the Duke assumed that the meeting would be entirely peaceful and diplomatic, thus he brought only a small escort with him. The Dauphins men reacted to the Dukes arrival by attacking and killing him, Charles level of involvement has remained uncertain to this day. Although he claimed to have been unaware of his mens intentions, the assassination marked the end of any attempt of a reconciliation between the two factions Armagnacs and Burgundians, thus playing into the hands of Henry V of England. Charles was later required by a treaty with Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, to pay penance for the murder, at the death of his father, Charles VI, the succession was cast into doubt. For those who did not recognize the treaty and believed the Dauphin Charles to be of legitimate birth, for those who did not recognize his legitimacy, the rightful heir was recognized as Charles, Duke of Orléans, cousin of the Dauphin, who was in English captivity. Only the supporters of Henry VI and the Dauphin Charles were able to enlist sufficient military force to press effectively for their candidates, the English, already in control of northern France, were able to enforce the claim of their king in the regions of France that they occupied. Northern France, including Paris, was ruled by an English regent, Henry Vs brother, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford

4.
Henry VI of England
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Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Henry inherited the long-running Hundred Years War, where Charles VII contested his claim to the French throne. Henry married Charless niece, Margaret of Anjou, partially in the hope of achieving peace in 1445, the war recommenced, with France taking the upper hand, by 1453, Calais was Henrys only remaining territory on the continent. Henry experienced a breakdown after the failure of the war. Civil war broke out in 1460, leading to a period of dynastic conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. Henry was taken prisoner by Richard of York at Northampton on 10 July 1460 but was rescued that December by forces loyal to Margaret and he was deposed on 29 March 1461 following the victory at Towton by Richards son, who took the throne as Edward IV. Henry suffered another breakdown and, despite Margaret continuing to lead a resistance to Edward, he was captured by Edwards forces in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, restored Henry to the throne in 1470, Henry died in the Tower during the night of 21 May 1471, possibly killed on the orders of Edward. He was buried at Chertsey Abbey, before being moved to Windsor Castle in 1484, miracles were attributed to Henry after his death, and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr until the 16th century. He left a legacy of educational institutions, having founded Eton College, Kings College and All Souls College, William Shakespeare wrote a trilogy of plays about his life, depicting him as weak-willed and easily influenced by his wife, Margaret. Henry was the child and heir of King Henry V. He was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle and he succeeded to the throne as King of England at the age of nine months upon his fathers death on 31 August 1422, he was the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. A few weeks later on 21 October 1422 in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes of 1420 and his mother, Catherine of Valois, was then 20 years old. As Charles VIs daughter, she was viewed with suspicion by English nobles and was prevented from playing a full role in her sons upbringing. On 28 September 1423, the nobles swore loyalty to Henry VI and they summoned Parliament in the Kings name and established a regency council to govern until the King should come of age. One of Henry Vs surviving brothers, John, Duke of Bedford, was appointed regent of the realm and was in charge of the ongoing war in France. During Bedfords absence, the government of England was headed by Henry Vs other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and his duties were limited to keeping the peace and summoning Parliament. Henry Vs half-uncle Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, had an important place on the Council, after the Duke of Bedford died in 1435, the Duke of Gloucester claimed the Regency himself, but was contested in this by the other members of the Council

Henry VI of England
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Henry VI
Henry VI of England
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Henry VI, aged nine months, is shown being placed in the care of the Earl of Warwick
Henry VI of England
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Mid-15th century depiction of Henry being crowned King of France
Henry VI of England
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Margaret of Anjou, depicted in the Talbot Shrewsbury Book, 1444-45

5.
Philip the Bold
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Philip the Bold was Duke of Burgundy and jure uxoris Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. The fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg and his vast collection of territories made him the undisputed premier peer of the kingdom of France and made his successors formidable rivals of the kings of France. Born in Pontoise in 1342, Philip gained his cognomen the Bold at the age of 14 and he remained in the custody of the English with his father until the terms of their ransom were agreed to in the Treaty of Brétigny of 1360. His father had been the ruler of the duchy since the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, Philip would rule the duchy as Philip II until his death. He was actually the stepbrother of Philip I of Burgundy, whose mother Joan was married to King John II of France, Philip the Bolds father, Margaret became the widow of Philips stepbrother Duke Philip I of Burgundy while still a child of about 11. As her fathers heiress, Margaret would bring rich possessions to Philip the Bold. From 1379 to 1382, Philip helped his father-in-law Louis II put down revolts in Flanders, particularly in Ghent, the revolts were finally ended in 1385, following the death of Louis II, with the Peace of Tournai. As jure uxoris Count of Flanders, he would keep in mind the interests of the Flemish cities. Philip was very active at the court of France, particularly after the death in 1380 of his brother King Charles V, among Philips acts while regent was the suppression of a tax revolt in 1382 known as the Harelle. The regency lasted until 1388, always with Philip assuming the dominant role, Louis of Bourbon was largely an unimportant figure due to his personality and his status. In 1392, events conspired to allow Philip to seize power once more in France, Charles VIs friend and advisor Olivier de Clisson had recently been the target of an assassination attempt by agents of John V, Duke of Brittany. The would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, had taken refuge in Brittany, Charles, outraged at these events, determined to punish Craon, and on 1 July 1392 led an expedition against Brittany. While traveling to Brittany, the king, already overwrought by the progress, was shocked by a madman who spent half-an-hour following the procession to warn the king that he had been betrayed. When a page dropped a lance, the king reacted by killing several of his knights and had to be wrestled to the ground, Philip, who was present, immediately assumed command and appointed himself regent, dismissing Charles advisors. He was the ruler of France until 1402. His seizure of power, however, had consequences for the unity of the House of Valois. This struggle only served to enhance the reputation of Philip, since he appeared to be a sober and honest reformer in comparison to the profligate and irresponsible Louis. Although Charles VI confirmed his brother as regent in 1402 in a moment of sanity, Louiss misrule allowed Philip to regain control of France as regent in 1404

Philip the Bold
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Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
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Flanders, double groat or 'jangelaar', struck in Gent under Philip the Bold (1384-1404) with the arms of Burgundy and Flanders.
Philip the Bold
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Engraving of Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
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Tomb of Philip the Bold at the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy at Dijon

6.
John, Duke of Berry
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John of Berry or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg, his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou. He is primarily remembered as a collector of the important illuminated manuscripts and other works of art commissioned by him and he was born at the castle of Vincennes on 30 November 1340. When Poitiers was ceded to England in 1360, John II granted John the newly raised duchies of Berry, by the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny, signed that May, John became a hostage of the English Crown and remained in England until 1369. Upon his return to France, his brother, now King Charles V, appointed him lieutenant general for Berry, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Forez, Sologne, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, and Normandy. Upon the death of his older brother Charles V in 1380, his son and heir, Charles VI was a minor, so Berry and his brothers, following the death of Louis of Anjou in 1384, Berry and his brother Burgundy were the dominant figures in the kingdom. John was also stripped of his offices in Languedoc at that time, Berry and Burgundy bided their time, and were soon able to retake power, in 1392, when the King had his first attack of insanity, an affliction which would remain with him throughout his life. The two royal dukes continued to rule until 1402, when the king, in one of his moments of lucidity, took power from them and gave it to his brother Louis, Duke of Orléans. Simon of Cramaud, a canonist and prelate, served the Duke in his efforts to find a way to end the Great Western schism that was not unfavorable to French interests, in his later years, John became a more conciliatory figure in France. It was largely due to his urging that Charles VI and his sons were not present at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and he died a few months after the battle, which proved as disastrous as he had feared, on June 151416 in Paris. In 1389 he married his wife, Joan II, Countess of Auvergne. John of Berry was also a patron who commissioned among other works the most famous Book of Hours. His spending on his art collection severely taxed his estates, works created for him include the manuscripts known as the Très Riches Heures, the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry and the Turin-Milan Hours. Goldsmiths work includes the Holy Thorn Reliquary and Royal Gold Cup, among the artists working for him were the Limbourg Brothers, Jacquemart de Hesdin and André Beauneveu. The web site of the Louvre says of him, Emmerson, key Figures in Medieval Europe, An Encyclopedia. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, new York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–

John, Duke of Berry
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Image of John, Duke of Berry from the Très Riches Heures
John, Duke of Berry
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Joan of Auvergne and Boulogne
John, Duke of Berry
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John of Berry
John, Duke of Berry
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A portrait of John kneeling in prayer

7.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town

Paris
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In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
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Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
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The Palais de la Cité and Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)

8.
Isabella of Valois
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Isabella of France was Queen consort of England as the second spouse of King Richard II. Her parents were King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria and she married the king at the age of seven and was widowed three years later. She later married Charles, Duke of Orléans, dying in childbirth at the age of nineteen, Isabellas younger sister, Catherine, was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422, wife of Henry V and mother of Henry VI. Catherine was also a grandmother of Henry VII, Isabella lived during a period of political tension between France and England known as the Hundred Years War, the situation exacerbated by the mental instability of her father. On 31 October 1396, almost the age of seven, Isabella married the widower King Richard II of England in a move for peace with France, although the union was political, Richard II and the child Isabella developed a mutually respectful relationship. By May of 1399, the Queen had been moved to Portchester Castle for protection while Richard went on a campaign in Ireland. King Henry IV then decided Queen Isabella should marry his son, the future Henry V of England, knowing her husband was dead, she went into mourning, ignoring Henry IVs demands. Eventually he let her go back to France, on 29 June 1406, Queen Isabella married her cousin Charles, Duke of Orléans. She died in childbirth at the age of 19, leaving one daughter, Joan, Isabella was interred in Blois, in the abbey of St. Laumer, where her body was found entire in 1624, curiously wrapped in bands of linen plated over with quicksilver. It was then transferred to the church of the Celestines in Paris, in Shakespeares play Richard II Richards queen appears in two significant scenes at the time of his deposition, but she is portrayed as an adult. She is forced by the new king Henry IV to leave for France after the deposition, two well-regarded novels about Isabellas life appeared in the late 1950s. Hilda Lewis The Gentle Falcon is about Isabellas marriage to Richard II, while Gladys Malverns My Lady, My Love is about Isabellas later years after Richards death and her return to France

Isabella of Valois
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Isabella of Valois
Isabella of Valois
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Richard and Isabella on their wedding day

9.
Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Guyenne
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Louis was the eighth of twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. He was their son and the second to hold the titles Dauphin of Viennois and Duke of Guyenne, inheriting them in 1401, at the death of his older brother. Louis was born between the eighth and ninth hours of the evening in the royal Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris and he was baptised the next day in the parish church of Saint-Paul, with eight prelates attending, including the abbot of Saint-Denis. Present also was an assembly of noblemen and ladies. The infant was carried to the font by Duke Louis of Orléans, Pierre le Bègue de Villaines and they gave him the name Louis and the archbishop of Vienne performed the baptism. The first years of Louiss life were spent in the care of his mother, only after the death of his elder brother Charles on 13 January 1401 did he take on a political importance by inheriting the Dauphiné. On 14 January, King Charles formally invested Louis with the Duchy of Guyenne, on 28 February 1402, Charles juridically emancipated his son and Louis did homage for Guyenne. Nonetheless, the young dauphin did not have his own household or treasury, the revenues of Guyenne were overseen by John, Duke of Berry, as lieutenant-general of Languedoc. On 4 July, another royal ordinance confirmed the revenues of Guyenne to the duke of Berry for the rest of his life, on 30 January 1404, the king ordered the establishment of a household and treasury separate from Isabeaus for the eight-year-old Louis. Although Louiss marriage contract had been signed before a council of the realm on 5 May 1403, the Duke of Orléans. The marriage of Louiss sister Michelle to Margarets brother Philip, Count of Charolais, was finalised at this council. Since Louis and Margaret were related to within the prohibited degree, as a consequence, the couple was not married until 30 August 1404 in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. As Charles VI descended into madness, influence over and control of Louis became of increasing importance to the parties sought to control royal policy. In 1404, Louiss father-in-law succeeded as duke of Burgundy, in 1405, the duke of Orléans, in cooperation with the queen, perpetrated the first kidnapping of the Dauphin in order to separate Louis from the influence of his grandfather-in-law. As the duke of Burgundy approached Paris on a summons, the duke of Orléans. The dauphin was ill, but was brought by boat and then by litter to Juvisy, where he was intercepted by the lord of Saint-Georges, the duke of Burgundy and the count of Charolais then met him and escorted him back to Paris in his litter. There the young duke was put up in the Louvre, because it was easier to defend than the Hôtel Saint-Pol, in 1409, Jean de Nielles, already chancellor to the queen and a knight known for his loyalty to the Burgundian duke, was made Louiss chancellor also. The duke of Burgundy also appointed Pierre de Fontenay, Louiss maître dhôtel, while the duke of Orléans chose his chamberlains, the influence of the dukes is apparent even in Louiss buying habits, he frequented the merchants who were the suppliers of Burgundy and Orléans

Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Guyenne
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Louis of Guyenne

10.
Catherine of Valois
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Catherine of Valois was the queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she married Henry V of England and her liaison with Owen Tudor proved the springboard of that familys fortunes, eventually leading to their grandsons elevation as Henry VII of England. Catherines older sister Isabella was queen of England from 1396 until 1399, Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. She was born at the Hôtel Saint-Pol on 27 October 1401, early on, there had been a discussion of marrying her to the prince of Wales, son of Henry IV of England, but the king died before negotiations could begin. In 1414, the prince, now Henry V, re-opened discussion of the match, along with a large dowry, while some authors have maintained that Catherine was neglected as a child by her mother, a more contemporary examination of the evidence suggests otherwise. Henry V went to war with France, and even after the great English victory at Agincourt, Catherine was said to be very attractive and when Henry finally met her at Meulan, he became enamoured. In May 1420, a agreement was made between England and France, the Treaty of Troyes, and Charles acknowledged Henry of England as his heir. Catherine and Henry were married at the Parish Church of St John or at Troyes Cathedral on 2 June 1420, Catherine went to England with her new husband and was crowned queen in Westminster Abbey on 23 February 1421. In June 1421, Henry returned to France to continue his military campaigns, by this time, Catherine was several months pregnant and gave birth to a son named Henry on 6 December 1421 at Windsor. Her husband never saw their child, during the siege of Meaux, he became sick with dysentery and died on 31 August 1422, just before his 36th birthday. Catherine was not quite 21 and was left a queen dowager, Charles VI died a couple of months after Henry V, making the young Henry VI king of England and English-occupied northern France. Catherine doted on her son during his early childhood, Catherine was still young and marriageable, a source of concern to her brother-in-law Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and Lord Protector. Rumours abounded that Catherine planned to marry Edmund Beaufort, Count of Mortain, the kings consent was contingent upon his having attained his majority. At that time, the king was only six years old, Catherine lived in the kings household, presumably so she could care for her young son, but the arrangement also enabled the councillors to watch over the queen dowager herself. Nevertheless, Catherine entered into a relationship with Welshman Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor. Tudor was probably appointed keeper of Catherines household or wardrobe, the relationship began when Catherine lived at Windsor Castle, and she became pregnant with their first child there. At some point, she stopped living in the Kings household and this was important because of Henry IVs laws limiting the rights of Welshmen. There is no evidence either way whether Catherine and Owen Tudor actually married

11.
House of Valois
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The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, the Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois, the second surviving son of King Philip III of France. Their title to the throne was based on a precedent in 1316, the Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and after the reign of Philip IV from 1285 to 1313. Philip had left three surviving sons and a daughter, each son became king in turn but died young without male heirs, leaving only daughters who could not inherit the throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, the French succession became more problematic, in 1328 three candidates had plausible claims to the throne, Philip, Count of Valois, son of Charles of Valois, who was the closest heir in male line and a grandson of Philip III. Because his father was the brother of the late Philip IV, he was therefore a nephew of Philip IV, further, Charles IV had chosen him as the regent before his death. Philip, Count of Évreux, another nephew of Philip IV and he strengthened his position by marrying Joan of France, daughter of Louis X. Edward III of England, son of Isabella of France, daughter and only surviving child of Philip IV. Edward claimed to be the heir as a grandson of Philip IV, in England, Isabella of France claimed the throne on behalf of her son. Like the French, the English law of succession did not allow the succession of females, the French rejected Isabellas claims, arguing that since she herself, as a woman, could not succeed, then she could not transmit any such right to her son. Thus the French magnates chose Philip of Valois, who became Philip VI of France, the throne of Navarre went its separate way, to Joan of France, daughter of Louis X, who became Joan II of Navarre. Because diplomacy and negotiation had failed, Edward III would have to back his claims with force to obtain the French throne, for a few years, England and France maintained an uneasy peace. Eventually, an escalation of conflict between the two led to the confiscation of the duchy of Aquitaine. Instead of paying homage to the French king, as his ancestors had done and these events helped launch the Hundred Years War between England and France. The Hundred Years War could be considered a war of succession between the houses of Valois and Plantagenet. The early reign of Philip VI was a one for France. The new king fought the Flemings on behalf of his vassal, the count of Flanders, Edward IIIs aggression against Scotland, a French ally, prompted Philip VI to confiscate Guyenne. In the past the English kings would have to submit to the King of France, but Edward, having descended from the French kings, claimed the throne for himself

House of Valois
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Arms of the King of France since 1376

12.
Joan of Bourbon
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Joanna of Bourbon was Queen of France by marriage to King Charles V. She acted as his adviser and was appointed potential regent in case of a minor regency. Born in the Château de Vincennes, Joanna was a daughter of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, and Isabella of Valois, from October 1340 through at least 1343, negotiations and treaties were made for her to marry Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. The goal was to bring Savoy more closely into French influence, on 8 April 1350, she married her cousin, the future Charles V of France, at Tain-lHermitage. Born thirteen days apart, they both were 12 years old, when Charles ascended the throne in 1364, Joanna became queen of France. According to tradition, Joanna was rumored to have taken the poet Hippolyte de Saint-Alphon for a lover, who was the father of her child Jean. Queen Joanna was described as mentally fragile, and after the birth of her son Louis in 1372 and this deeply worried Charles V, who made a pilgrimage and offered many prayers for her recovery. When she did recover and regained her normal state of mind in 1373, Charles V appointed her guardian and regent of France should he die when his son. Joanna died at the royal residence Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris, on 6 February 1378, froissart recorded that Joanna took a bath against her physicians advice. Soon after, she went into labour and died two days after giving birth and her heart was buried in the Cordeliers Convent and her entrails in the Couvent des Célestins. The Couvent des Célestins in Paris was the most important royal necropolis after the Basilica of St Denis, the rest of her remains were then placed at Saint-Denis. Joanna and Charles had nine children, two of them reached adulthood, Joanna, interred at Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Abbey. Bonne, interred beside her older sister, Joanna, interred at Saint Denis Basilica. John of Berry, Count of Montpensier, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press

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Joanna of Bourbon

13.
Roman Catholicism
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services

14.
Age of majority
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The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as recognized or declared in law. Most countries set the age of majority at 18, the word majority here refers to having greater years and being of full age as opposed to minority, the state of being a minor. The law in a jurisdiction may not actually use the term age of majority. The term typically refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood, the age of majority does not necessarily correspond to the mental or physical maturity of an individual. Age of majority can be confused with the concept of the age of license. As a legal term of art, license means permission, thus, an age of license is an age at which one has legal permission from government to do something. The age of majority, on the hand, is legal recognition that one has grown into an adult. Many ages of license are correlated to the age of majority, one need not have attained the age of majority to have permission to exercise certain rights and responsibilities. Some ages of license are actually higher than the age of majority, for example, the age of license to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21 in all U. S. states. Another example is the age, which prior to the 1970s was 21. In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, but one must be at least 25 years of age to run for public office. A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to their maturity upon the signing of the court order, only emancipation confers the status of maturity before a person has actually reached the age of majority. In almost all places, minors who are married are automatically emancipated, some places also do the same for minors who are in the armed forces or who have a certain degree or diploma. In the United States, all states have some form of emancipation of minors, judaism,13 years of age for males and 12 years of age for females, such persons are considered adults Roman Catholic Church,18 years of age

Age of majority

15.
Le Mans
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Le Mans is a city in France, on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department, Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles, since 1923, the city has hosted the internationally famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race. First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum, or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis, a 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the century when workers were mobilized to build the citys defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive, as the use of the French language replaced late Vulgar Latin in the area, Cenomanus, with dissimilation, became known as Celmans. Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for this and that, and was replaced by le, gregory of Tours mentions a Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by King Clovis I in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories. As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England, in 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral and their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born here. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as A-35 and it was used by several American fighter and transport units until late November of that year in additional offensives across France, the airfield was closed. Le Mans has an old town and the Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans. Remnants of a Roman wall are visible in the old town and these walls are highlighted every summer evening in a light show that tells the history of the town. Arboretum de la Grand Prée Part of the former Cistercian abbey de lEpau, founded by Queen Berengaria, jardin des Plantes du Mans Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history located in a gothic manor house. Musée de Tessé, the arts museum of the city, displaying painting. Le Mans has an oceanic climate influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland, summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round, at the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper

16.
Insanity
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Insanity, craziness, or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. In modern usage, insanity is most commonly encountered as an unscientific term denoting mental instability. In the medical profession the term is now avoided in favor of diagnoses of specific psychiatric diseases, when discussing psychiatric illness in general terms, psychopathology is considered a preferred descriptor. In English, the word derives from the Latin adjective sanus meaning healthy. Juvenals phrase mens sana in corpore sano is often translated to mean a healthy mind in a healthy body. From this perspective, insanity can be considered as poor health of the mind, not necessarily of the brain as an organ, another Latin phrase related to our current concept of sanity is compos mentis, and a euphemistic term for insanity is non compos mentis. In law, mens rea means having had criminal intent, or a guilty mind, a more informal use of the term insanity is to denote something considered highly unique, passionate or extreme, including in a positive sense. The term may also be used as an attempt to discredit or criticise particular ideas, beliefs, principles, desires, personal feelings, attitudes, or their proponents, such as in politics and religion. Madness, the word for insanity, has been recognized throughout history in every known society. Primitive cultures turned to doctors or shamans to apply magic, herbal mixtures. Archaeologists have unearthed skulls that have round holes bored in them using flint tools. It has been conjectured that the subject may have thought to have been possessed by devils which the holes would allow to escape. However, more recent research on the practice of trepanning supports the hypothesis that this procedure was medical in nature. The Greeks replaced concepts of the supernatural with a secular view and they saw mental and physical illness as a result of natural causes and an imbalance in bodily humors. Hippocrates frequently wrote that an excess of black bile resulted in irrational thinking, Romans made further contributions to psychiatry, in particular the precursor to contemporary practice. They put forth the idea that emotions could lead to bodily ailments. The Middle Ages, however, witnessed the end of the ideas of the Greeks. Europes oldest asylum is the Bethlem Royal Hospital of London, also known as Bedlam, the first American asylum was built in Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1773

17.
Prince du sang
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A prince du sang is a person legitimately descended in dynastic line from any of a realms hereditary monarchs. In some European kingdoms, especially France, this appellation was a rank in its own right. Under the House of Capet, the monarchy was feudal, in the feudal era, the agnates of the king held no special status. This was because agnatic primogeniture had not yet received its sanction as the law governing the succession to the French throne, following the Valois succession, the agnates of the king, being capable of the crown, rose in prominence. New peerages were created for the kings agnates, and for a time this continued to be so. Over time, the dignity of a peer, which is feudal in nature, and the dignity of a prince of the blood, non-royal peers and princes of the blood who were peers constantly disputed for higher precedence than the other. As the royal line contracted, each prince of the blood gained greater prominence, in France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration. The rank of prince du sang or princesse du sang was restricted to legitimate agnates of the Capetian dynasty who were not members of the family of the king. In theory, the princes of the blood included all members of the Capetian dynasty, in practice, only the agnatic descendants of Saint Louis IX, such as the Valois and the Bourbons, were acknowledged as princes du sang. Frances kings, for instance, refused to recognize the Courtenay Capetians as princes of the blood, the Courtenays descended in legitimate male-line from King Louis VI, but had become impoverished, minor nobles over the centuries. Their repeated petitions for recognition to the Bourbon rulers were in vain, in 1715 Louis-Charles de Courtenay, his son Charles-Roger and his brother Roger were once again rebuffed in their attempt to seek recognition of their status. They descended from Jean, seigneur de Carency, the youngest son of Jean I de Bourbon, since 1733, all legitimate Capetians were of the House of Bourbon, of the Vendôme branch, descended from Charles, Duke of Vendôme. A cadet branch of the Condés was the House of Conti, though the Parlement de Paris refused to register the decree, the king exercised his right to compel registration by conducting a lit de justice. The edict was revoked and annulled on 18 August 1715 by the Parlement on the authority of the regent after the kings death, as a chancellor of Louis XIV had warned, a king could only make princes of the blood through his queen. Those who held this rank were usually styled by their main ducal peerage, the style Serene Highness was used in writing only. This was the style of the First Prince of the Blood, in practice, it was not always clear who was entitled to the rank, and it often took a specific act of the king to make the determination. The rank carried with it various privileges, including the right to a household out of state revenues. The rank was held for life, the birth of a new, the Princes of Condé used the style of Monsieur le Prince for over a century

18.
John the Fearless
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John the Fearless, also known as John of Valois and John I of Burgundy, was Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. He was a member of the Burgundian branch of the Valois Dynasty, for a period of time, he served as regent of France on behalf of his first cousin King Charles VI of France, who suffered from severe mental illness. John was born in Dijon on 27 May 1371 to Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1385, a double wedding for the Burgundian family took place in Cambrai. The marriage took place after John cancelled his engagement to Catherine of France, before his accession to the Duchy of Burgundy, John was one of the principal leaders of the French forces sent to aid King Sigismund of Hungary in his war against Sultan Bayezid I. John fought in the Battle of Nicopolis of 25 September 1396 with such enthusiasm, despite his personal bravery, his impetuous leadership ended in disaster for the European expedition. He was captured and did not recover his liberty until the year after an enormous ransom was paid. Both men attempted to fill the vacuum left by the demented king. John played a game of marriages by exchanging his daughter Margaret of Burgundy for Michelle of Valois, for her part, Margaret was married to Louis, Duke of Guyenne, the heir to the French throne from 1401 until his death in 1415. For all his concentration on aristocratic politics, John nonetheless did not overlook the importance of the class of merchants. Louis tried to gain the favour of the wife of Charles VI, Queen Isabeau of France and this did not improve relations between John and the Duke of Orléans. Soon the two descended into making open threats. Their uncle, John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation on 20 November 1407, the order, no one doubted, had come from the Duke of Burgundy, who shortly admitted to the deed and declared it to be a justifiable act of tyrannicide. After an escape from Paris and a few skirmishes against the Orléans party, in the treaty of Chartres, signed on 9 March 1409, the King absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis son Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed Johns guardianship of the Dauphin, even with the Orléans dispute resolved in his favour, John did not lead a tranquil life. Chief among these allies was his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, because of this alliance, their faction became known as the Armagnacs in opposition to the Burgundians. With peace between the factions solemnly sworn in 1410, John returned to Burgundy and Bernard remained in Paris, at this time, King Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. During the peace negotiations with the Armagnacs, Henry was also in contact with John, despite this, he continued to be wary of forming an alliance with the English for fear of destroying his immense popularity with the common people of France. When Henry demanded Burgundys support for his claim to be the rightful King of France, John backed away and decided to ally himself with the Armagnacs

John the Fearless
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John the Fearless
John the Fearless
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Double groat or 'Braspenning', struck under John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy
John the Fearless
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Miniature showing John the Fearless' assassination painted by Master of the Prayer Books
John the Fearless
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John's tomb, photo by Eugene Trutat

19.
Treaty of Troyes
–
The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of Henrys successful military campaign in France. The treaty arranged for the marriage of Charles VIs daughter Catherine of Valois to Henry V, the Dauphin Charles VII of France was disinherited from the succession. The Estates-General of France ratified the agreement later that year after Henry V entered Paris, the French king Charles VI suffered bouts of insanity through much of his reign. Henry V had invaded France in 1415 and delivered a crushing defeat to the French at Agincourt, in 1418, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, whose political and economic interests favoured an agreement with the English, occupied Paris. One year later he was murdered by his Armagnac opponents on the bridge at Montereau and his son Philip the Good formed an alliance with the English and negotiated the treaty with the English King. There had been rumours that the Queen had an affair with her brother-in-law Louis. These rumours were gladly taken up by Louis main rival, John the Fearless, the Burgundians promoted the rumor that Charles was a bastard. However, such a statement could not possibly be registered in a treaty without offending the honor of the King of France. Thus, the disinheritance of the dauphin, with respect to the French throne, was based on his enormous crimes, Charles disinheritance received further legal sanction after he declared himself regent for Charles VI in rivalry to the regency declared by Henry V. The Dauphin was summoned to a justice in 1420 on charges of lèse-majesté. The treaty was undermined by the deaths of both Charles VI and Henry V within two months of each other in 1422. The infant Henry VI of England became King of both England and France, but the Dauphin Charles also claimed the throne of France upon the death of his father. Crowned King of France, Charles VII, on 17 July 1429 in Reims Cathedral, however, in 1435, Charles signed the Treaty of Arras with the Burgundians, in which they recognized and endorsed his claims to the throne. The military victory of Charles VII over both the French and English supporters of the claims of Henry VI to be king of France rendered the treaty moot. The kings of England continued to claim the crown of France until the Acts of Union in 1800 merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain, nobles, Knights and Men-at Arms in the Middle Ages. The Contending Kingdoms, France and England 1420-1700, the Hundred Years War, England and France at War c.1300 - c. John Lydgate, A Study in the Culture of the XVth Century

Treaty of Troyes
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Ratification of the Treaty de Troyes, 21 May 1420

20.
Paris, France
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town

21.
Age of accountability
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Coming of age is a young persons transition from being a child to being an adult. The certain age at which this takes place changes in society. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual or spiritual event, in the past, and in some societies today, such a change is associated with the age of sexual maturity, especially menarche and spermarche. In others, it is associated with an age of religious responsibility, particularly in western societies, modern legal conventions which stipulate points in late adolescence or early adulthood are the focus of the transition. In either case, many cultures retain ceremonies to confirm the coming of age, Coming of age is often a topic of fiction, in the form of a coming-of-age story. In written literature, a novel which deals with the psychological and moral growth often associated with coming of age is called a bildungsroman. Similar stories that are told in film are called coming-of-age films, turning 15, the age of maturity, as the Bahai faith terms it, is a time when a child is considered spiritually mature. Declared Bahais that have reached the age of maturity are expected to begin observing certain Bahai laws, such as obligatory prayer, theravada boys, typically just under the age of 20 years, undergo a Shinbyu ceremony, where they are initiated into the Temple as Novice Monks. They will typically stay in the monastery for between 3 days and 3 years, most commonly for one 3-month rainy season retreat, held annually from late July to early October. After living the monastic life for some time, the boy, now considered to have come of age. Confucianism had a ceremony called Guan Li for young men, at around the age of 20, they would receive their style name. In many Western Christian churches, a young person celebrates his/her Coming of Age with the Sacrament of Confirmation and this is usually done by the Bishop laying his hands upon the foreheads of the young person, and marking them with the seal of the Holy Spirit. In some denominations during this sacrament the child adopts a name which is added onto their Christian name. In Christian denominations that practice Believers Baptism, the ritual can be carried out after the age of accountability has arrived. Some traditions withhold the rite of Holy Communion from those not yet at the age of accountability, mid-teens in the United States, early teens in Ireland and Britain, has in some areas been abandoned in favour of restoring the traditional order of the three sacraments of initiation. These individuals are seen, according to some Christians, as existing in a perpetual state of innocence. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sets the age for baptism at 8 years of age and calls this the age of accountability. All persons younger than 8 are considered innocent and incapable of sinning, the LDS Church considers mentally challenged individuals whose mental age is under 8 to be in a perpetual state of innocence, similar to other Christian churches

22.
Canon law
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Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. The way that such law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was originally a rule adopted by a council, these canons formed the foundation of canon law. Greek kanon / Ancient Greek, κανών, Arabic Qanun / قانون, Hebrew kaneh / קנה, straight, a rule, code, standard, or measure, the root meaning in all these languages is reed. In the Fourth century the First Council of Nicaea calls canons the disciplinary measures of the Church, the canon, κανὠν, means in Greek. There is an early distinction between the rules enacted by the Church and the legislative measures taken by the State called leges. The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, west Syrian Rite which includes the Maronite Church, Syriac Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Church. Armenian Rite Church which includes the Armenian Catholic Church, east Syrian Rite Churches which includes the Chaldean Church and Syro-Malabar Church. All of these groups are in full communion with the Supreme Pontiff and are subject to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The history of Latin canon law can be divided into four periods, the jus antiquum, the jus novum, the jus novissimum, in relation to the Code, history can be divided into the jus vetus and the jus novum. The academic degrees in law are the J. C. B. Because of its nature, advanced degrees in civil law or theology are normal prerequisites for the study of canon law. Much of the style was adapted from the Roman Law Code of Justinian. This is in contrast to the form of proceeding found in the common law system of English and U. S. law. The institutions and practices of canon law paralleled the development of much of Europe. Sampel explains that law has significant influence in contemporary society. Canonical jurisprudential theory generally follows the principles of Aristotelian-Thomistic legal philosophy, each had its own special law, in which custom still played an important part. In 1929 Pius XI informed the Eastern Churches of his intention to work out a Code for the whole of the Eastern Church, the publication of these Codes for the Eastern Churches regarding the law of persons was made between 1949 through 1958 but finalized nearly 30 years later

Canon law
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Image of pages from the Decretum of Burchard of Worms, the 11th-century book of canon law.

23.
John VI, Duke of Brittany
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John V the Wise, was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death. He was son of Duke John IV and Joan of Navarre, John V became Duke of Brittany in 1399 when still a minor upon the death of his father, John IV. His mother, Joan of Navarre, served as regent in the portion of his reign. Unlike his father, John V inherited the duchy in peace, or so the end of the Breton War of Succession, however, his fathers rivals for the duchy, the Pentheiveres, continued to plot against him. Furthermore, John had to secure the peace of the duchy during a period culminating in Henry V of Englands invasion of France. He became duke at the age of ten, and began his reign under the tutelage of Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold and he made peace with the king of France, Charles VI, whose daughter, Joan of France, he married. He also reconciled with the powerful magnate Olivier de Clisson, formerly an enemy of his father, in 1404, he defeated a French force near Brest. A potential conflict with Clisson was averted by the latters death, when Henry V invaded France, John was initially allied to the French. However, he missed the Battle of Agincourt, the confusion in the aftermath of the battle allowed him to seize Saint-Malo which had been annexed by the French. He then adopted a policy of switching between the two parties, English and French and he signed the Treaty of Troyes, which made Henry V heir to France, but he allowed his brother Arthur de Richemont to fight for the French. Arthur was imprisoned by the English, the Counts of Penthièvre had lost the Breton War of Succession in which they had claimed the ducal title of Brittany from Johns grandfather, John of Montfort. The war ended in 1364 in a victory for Johns father, in which the Penthièvre claimant, Charles of Blois. His widow, Joanna, Countess of Penthièvre, was forced to sign the Treaty of Guérande which concluded the conflict, the treaty stated that Penthièvres accepted the Montfortss right to the dukedom, but if they failed to produce a male heir the duchy would revert to the Penthièvres. Despite the military loss and the treaty, the Counts of Penthièvre had not renounced their direct ducal claims to Brittany. In 1420, they invited John V to a festival held at Châtonceaux, the count and countess of Penthièvre then spread rumours of his death and moved him to a new prison each day. John Vs wife, Joan of France, called all the barons of Brittany to respond. They besieged all the castles of the Penthièvre family one by one, Joan ended the crisis by seizing the dowager countess of Penthièvre, Margaret of Clisson, forcing Margaret to have the duke freed. After the release, the Châtonceaux citadel was destroyed and the name changed to Champtoceaux

John VI, Duke of Brittany
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Effigy of John V in Tréguier Cathedral
John VI, Duke of Brittany
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John V

24.
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
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Philip the Good was Duke of Burgundy as Philip III from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a line of the Valois dynasty. During his reign, Burgundy reached the apex of its prosperity and prestige, Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, his patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck and Franco-Flemish composers such as Gilles Binchois, and the capture of Joan of Arc. In political affairs, he alternated between alliances with the English and the French in an attempt to improve his dynastys position. As ruler of Flanders, Brabant, Limburg, Artois, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Friesland and Namur, born in 1396 in Dijon, Philip was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. His father succeeded Philips grandfather Philip the Bold as Duke of Burgundy in 1404 and they were married in June 1409. Bonne of Artois lived only a year after Philip married her, Philip was married for a third time to Isabella of Portugal, a daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, in Bruges on 7 January 1430. Corneille and Anthony were his favorite bastard sons and successively bore the title Grand bâtard de Bourgogne, Philip became duke of Burgundy and count of Flanders, Artois and Franche-Comté upon the assassination of his father in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philips brother-in-law, of planning the murder of his father, because of this, he continued to prosecute the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1420, Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes, in 1423, the marriage of Philips sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, strengthened the English alliance. In 1430, Philips troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English, Philip signed the treaty for a variety of reasons, one of which may have been a desire to be recognised as the preeminent duke in France. He then attacked Calais, a possession of the English, Philip supported the revolt of the French nobles the following year and offered shelter to the Dauphin Louis, who had rebelled against his father Charles VII. In 1456, Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son David was elected Bishop of Utrecht and it is not surprising that in 1435 Philip began to style himself the Grand Duke of the West. In 1463, Philip gave up some of his territory to King Louis XI of France and that year he also created an Estates-General for the Netherlands based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France, in 1465 and 1467, Philip crushed two rebellions in Liège. Philip died in Bruges in 1467, Philips court can only be described as extravagant. He declined membership in the English Order of the Garter in 1422, instead, he created his own Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the Knights of the Round Table and the myth of Jason, in 1430. Philip had no fixed capital and moved the court between various palaces, the urban ones being Brussels, Bruges, and Lille

25.
Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Guyenne
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Louis was the eighth of twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. He was their son and the second to hold the titles Dauphin of Viennois and Duke of Guyenne, inheriting them in 1401, at the death of his older brother. Louis was born between the eighth and ninth hours of the evening in the royal Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris and he was baptised the next day in the parish church of Saint-Paul, with eight prelates attending, including the abbot of Saint-Denis. Present also was an assembly of noblemen and ladies. The infant was carried to the font by Duke Louis of Orléans, Pierre le Bègue de Villaines and they gave him the name Louis and the archbishop of Vienne performed the baptism. The first years of Louiss life were spent in the care of his mother, only after the death of his elder brother Charles on 13 January 1401 did he take on a political importance by inheriting the Dauphiné. On 14 January, King Charles formally invested Louis with the Duchy of Guyenne, on 28 February 1402, Charles juridically emancipated his son and Louis did homage for Guyenne. Nonetheless, the young dauphin did not have his own household or treasury, the revenues of Guyenne were overseen by John, Duke of Berry, as lieutenant-general of Languedoc. On 4 July, another royal ordinance confirmed the revenues of Guyenne to the duke of Berry for the rest of his life, on 30 January 1404, the king ordered the establishment of a household and treasury separate from Isabeaus for the eight-year-old Louis. Although Louiss marriage contract had been signed before a council of the realm on 5 May 1403, the Duke of Orléans. The marriage of Louiss sister Michelle to Margarets brother Philip, Count of Charolais, was finalised at this council. Since Louis and Margaret were related to within the prohibited degree, as a consequence, the couple was not married until 30 August 1404 in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. As Charles VI descended into madness, influence over and control of Louis became of increasing importance to the parties sought to control royal policy. In 1404, Louiss father-in-law succeeded as duke of Burgundy, in 1405, the duke of Orléans, in cooperation with the queen, perpetrated the first kidnapping of the Dauphin in order to separate Louis from the influence of his grandfather-in-law. As the duke of Burgundy approached Paris on a summons, the duke of Orléans. The dauphin was ill, but was brought by boat and then by litter to Juvisy, where he was intercepted by the lord of Saint-Georges, the duke of Burgundy and the count of Charolais then met him and escorted him back to Paris in his litter. There the young duke was put up in the Louvre, because it was easier to defend than the Hôtel Saint-Pol, in 1409, Jean de Nielles, already chancellor to the queen and a knight known for his loyalty to the Burgundian duke, was made Louiss chancellor also. The duke of Burgundy also appointed Pierre de Fontenay, Louiss maître dhôtel, while the duke of Orléans chose his chamberlains, the influence of the dukes is apparent even in Louiss buying habits, he frequented the merchants who were the suppliers of Burgundy and Orléans

Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Guyenne
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Louis of Guyenne

26.
John, Dauphin of France and Duke of Touraine
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John, Dauphin of France and Duke of Touraine was the fourth son and ninth child of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. After his three brothers died, he became Dauphin in 1415. In 1406 he married Jacqueline, heiress of the County of Hainaut, Holland, Zealand, after his marriage to Jacqueline, he was brought up at the castle of Le Quesnoy in Hainaut, at the court of his mother-in-law, Margaret of Burgundy. After the death of his elder brother Louis in December 1415 and he died on 5 April 1417 at the age of eighteen. What exactly caused his death is disputed, according to some, he died of the consequences of an abscess to the head, while other sources suggest he had been poisoned. He was buried in Compiègnes Saint-Corneille abbey and his younger brother Charles became dauphin and eventually king

John, Dauphin of France and Duke of Touraine
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John of Touraine

27.
Owen Tudor
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Sir Owen Tudor was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Catherine of Valois, Henry Vs widow. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty, Owen was a descendant of a prominent family from Penmynydd on the Isle of Anglesey, which traces its lineage back to Ednyfed Fychan, a Welsh official and seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Tudors grandfather, Tudur ap Goronwy, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas ap Llywelyn ab Owain of Cardiganshire, margarets elder sister married Gruffudd Fychan of Glyndyfrdwy, whose son was Owain Glyndŵr. Owens father, Maredudd ap Tudur, and his uncles were prominent in Owain Glyndŵrs revolt against English rule, historians consider the descendants of Ednyfed Fychan, including Owen Tudor, the most powerful family in 13th to 14th-century Wales. Fychan married Gwenllian, daughter of Madog ap Maredydd and this enabled his family to act as leading servants to the princes of Gwynedd, and play a key role in the attempts to create a single Welsh principality. This privilege endured after the Conquest of Wales by Edward I with the family continuing to exercise power in the name of the king of England, within Wales. However, there remained an awareness of the familys Welsh heritage, the fact that little is known about Tudors early life and that it has instead become largely mythologized is attributed to his familys part in the Glyndŵr Rising. The sixteenth-century Welsh chronicler Elis Gruffydd did note that he was her sewer, Henry V of England died on 31 August 1422, leaving his wife, Queen Catherine of Valois, widowed. The Queen initially lived with her infant son, King Henry VI, in 1427, it is believed that Catherine began an affair with Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. The evidence of this affair is questionable, however the liaison prompted a parliamentary statute regulating the remarriage of queens of England, the historian G. L. Harriss suggested that it was possible that the affair resulted in the birth of Edmund Tudor. Despite the statute it is accepted that Catherine married Owen at some later date. Documentation indicates that Owen and Catherine had between three and five children, Edmund was born at either Much Hadham Palace in Hertfordshire or at Hadham in Bedfordshire, Edmund became the 1st Earl of Richmond in 1452 and later married Margaret Beaufort. In 1456 he died of plague in Carmarthen, just three months before the birth of the son at Pembroke Castle. That son, Henry, later king of England and founded the Tudor dynasty. He became the 1st Earl of Pembroke in 1452 but was branded as a traitor in 1461, however he became the 1st Duke of Bedford in 1485. He was the husband of Catherine Woodville, widow of the Duke of Buckingham and sister of Elizabeth Woodville. Jasper had one daughter, with a Welshwoman by the name of Mevanvy. The daughter later married William Gardiner of London, with whom she had offspring, Owen or Thomas or Edward was born on 6 November at the Palace of Westminster

Owen Tudor
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Coat of arms of Owen Tudor

28.
Marie of Anjou
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Marie of Anjou was Queen of France as the spouse of King Charles VII from 1422 to 1461. She served as regent and presided over the council of several times during the absence of the king. Marie was the eldest daughter of Louis II of Anjou, titular King of Naples, titular King of Sicily, Marie was betrothed to her second cousin Charles, fifth son of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria, in 1413. The wedding took place in April 1422 at Bourges, the wedding made her Queen of France, but as far as it is known, she was never crowned. Her spouses victory in the Hundred Years War owed a great deal to the support he received from Maries family, notably from her mother Yolande of Aragon. Queen Marie presided over the Council of state several times in the absence of the king, during which she had power of attorney as regent and she made several pilgrimages, such as Puy with the king in 1424, and Mount St Michel by herself in 1447. Robert Blondel composed the allegorical Treatise of the Twelve Perils of Hell for queen Marie in 1455, in 1461, Charles VII died and was succeeded by their son Louis XI, making Marie queen dowager. She was granted the Chateau of Amboise and the income from Brabant by her son, during the winter of 1462-63, Marie of Anjou made a pilgrimage to St Jacques de Compostela. She died at the age of 59 on 29 November 1463 at the Cistercian Abbaye de Chateliers-en-Poitou on her return and she is buried in the basilica of Saint-Denis alongside her spouse. Marie was the mother of fourteen children

Marie of Anjou
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Marie of Anjou

29.
Languedoc
–
Languedoc is a former province of France. Its territory is now contained in the region of Occitanie in the south of France. It had an area of approximately 27,376 square kilometers, the traditional provinces of the kingdom of France were not formally defined. A province was simply a territory of common traditions and customs, today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they actually refer to the gouvernements as they existed in 1789. Gouvernements were military regions established in the middle of the 16th century, however, in some cases, small provinces had been merged with a large one into a single gouvernement, so gouvernements are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces. Historically, the region was called the county of Toulouse, a county independent from the kings of France. The county of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it included the province of Quercy. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the part of it being now called Languedoc. The gouvernement of Languedoc was created in the middle of the 16th century, in addition to Languedoc proper, it also included the three small provinces of Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais, these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region around Albi was a province, called Albigeois. This decision was intentional, to avoid reviving the independently spirited county of Toulouse. In the rest of the article, Languedoc refers to the territory of this gouvernement of Languedoc, the governors of Languedoc resided in Pézenas, on the Mediterranean coast, away from Toulouse but close to Montpellier. The kings of France became fearful of the power of the governors, thus the gouvernements became hollow structures, but they still carried a sense of the old provinces, and so their names and limits have remained popular until today. The generality of Toulouse is also referred to as Upper Languedoc, while the generality of Montpellier, the intendants of Languedoc resided in Montpellier, and they had a sub-delegate in Toulouse. Montpellier was chosen on purpose to diminish the power of Toulouse, whose parlement was very influential, the intendants replaced the governors as administrators of Languedoc, but appointed and dismissed at will by the king, they were no threat to the central state in Versailles. By 1789 they were the most important element of the administration of the kingdom. For judicial and legislative matters, Languedoc was overseen by the Parlement of Toulouse and it was the first parlement created outside of Paris by the kings of France in order to be the equivalent of the Parlement of Paris in the far-away southern territories of the kingdom. The Parlement of Toulouse was the court of justice for this vast area of France

Languedoc
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Saint-Sernin Basilica in Toulouse, displaying the typical pink brick architecture of Upper Languedoc.
Languedoc
Languedoc
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Typical view of the mountainous Cévennes area in the thinly-populated interior of Languedoc: plateaus (the Causses) with deep river canyons
Languedoc
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The first completed Airbus A380 at the "A380 Reveal" event on 18 January 2005 in Toulouse, home base of the European aerospace industry.

30.
La Rochelle
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La Rochelle is a city in southwestern France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department, the city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2. 9-kilometre bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis dAntioche, the area of La Rochelle was occupied in antiquity by the Gallic tribe of the Santones, who gave their name to the nearby region of Saintonge and the city of Saintes. The Romans subsequently occupied the area, where they developed salt production along the coast as well as wine production, roman villas have been found at Saint-Éloi and at Les Minimes, as well as salt evaporation ponds dating from the same period. La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbour in the 12th century, in 1137, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. During the Plantagenet control of the city in 1185, Henry II had the Vauclair castle built, the main activities of the city were in the areas of maritime commerce and trade, especially with England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1196, a wealthy bourgeois named Alexandre Auffredi sent a fleet of seven ships to Africa to tap the riches of the continent. He went bankrupt and went into poverty as he waited for the return of his ships, the Knights Templar had a strong presence in La Rochelle since before the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who exempted them from duties and gave them mills in her 1139 Charter. La Rochelle was for the Templars their largest base on the Atlantic Ocean, from La Rochelle, they were able to act as intermediaries in trade between England and the Mediterranean. The fleet allegedly left laden with knights and treasures just before the issue of the warrant for the arrest of the Order in October 1307, during the Hundred Years War in 1360, following the Treaty of Bretigny La Rochelle again came under the rule of the English monarch. La Rochelle however expelled the English in June 1372, following the naval Battle of La Rochelle, the French and Spanish decisively defeated the English, securing French control of the Channel for the first time since the Battle of Sluys in 1340. The naval battle of La Rochelle was one of the first cases of the use of handguns on warships, having recovered freedom, La Rochelle refused entry to Du Guesclin, until Charles V recognized the privileges of the city in November 1372. In 1402, the French adventurer Jean de Béthencourt left La Rochelle, until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese. During the Renaissance, La Rochelle adopted Protestant ideas, calvinism started to be propagated in the region of La Rochelle, resulting in its suppression through the establishment of Cours présidiaux tribunals by Henry II. An early result of this was the burning at the stake of two heretics in La Rochelle in 1552. On the initiative of Gaspard de Coligny, the Calvinists attempted to colonize the New World to find a new home for their religion, with the likes of Pierre Richier and Jean de Léry. After the short-lived attempt of France Antarctique, they failed to establish a colony in Brazil and he has been described, by Lancelot Voisin de La Popelinière, as le père de léglise de La Rochelle

La Rochelle
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La Rochelle
La Rochelle
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Coastline around La Rochelle in Roman times.
La Rochelle
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Left image: Vauclair castle was built by the English in 1185. Right image: Remnants of Vauclair castle, Place de Verdun, La Rochelle.
La Rochelle

31.
Olivier de Clisson
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Olivier V de Clisson, nicknamed The Butcher, was a Breton soldier, the son of Olivier IV de Clisson. His father had put to death by the French in 1343 on the suspicion of having willingly given up the city of Vannes to the English. Olivier de Clisson was born on April 23,1336 at the Château de Clisson in Brittany and his father was captured by the English and imprisoned, but was released after a relatively low ransom was paid. Because of the amount, the King of France, Philip VI, after a peace treaty was signed, his father was invited to Paris for a tournament, but was arrested, tried and executed by beheading on 2 August 1343. This expeditious execution shocked the nobility as the evidence of guilt was never made public, moreover, the notion of betrayal does not refer in the same way for nobles of that time, they claimed the right to choose whom to honor. Olivier IVs body received additional posthumous humiliation, his body was hanged by the armpits at the gallows at Montfaucon in Paris, olivier’s mother, Jeanne de Belleville née de Clisson, swore Olivier and his brother Guillaume to avenge their father. She raised funds for an army to attack troops loyal to France, eventually she armed ships and started a piratical war against French ships. These ships were eventually lost and Jeanne with her two sons set adrift for five days, Guillaume died of thirst, cold and exhaustion. Olivier and his mother were rescued and taken to Morlaix by Montfort supporters. It was after these events that Olivier was taken by his mother to England when he was years old. He was raised in the court of King Edward III with John IV de Montfort, Oliviers mother Jeanne, eventually married her fourth husband, an English military commander of King Edward III. 1359, After ten years in England, Olivier, then twenty-three, accompanied King Edward III and John IV at the head of an Breton-English force to Brittany as part of a guerilla campaign near Poitou. 1360, Olivier was reconciled by the new King of France, John II, the Good as part of the Treaty of Brétigny on 8 May and this treaty opened a nine-year truce between the two Kingdoms. This process allowed for the rehabilitation of Oliviers fathers honour and regaining his family’s rights. In the same year, Olivier also married Catherine of Laval and Chateaubriant, heiress of the family Laval, and granddaughter of the Duke Arthur II. He therefore became both first cousin of both Ducal claimants, John IV de Montfort and Joan, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles de Blois, This also made Olivier a relative of the King of France and this alliance opened up new political possibilities. 1365, John IV besieged the city of Auray, the two opposing Breton armies clashed under the walls of the city on September 29. Monfortistes were entrenched there and John IV attempted to overcome the numerical inferiority of his army by attacking the Breton-French camp by surprise, the Breton-English commander however adopted a proposal from Olivier and waited for the Breton-French army to climb a slope leading to Auray

32.
Pierre de Craon
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Pierre de Craon, known as le Grand, was a medieval French aristocrat notorious for his riotous temperament, culminating in his attempted murder of Olivier de Clisson, Constable of France. Events following the led to the mental breakdown of King Charles VI of France ushering in a long period of political instability in France. Craon inherited considerable wealth from his father, Guillaume I de Craon and he held the titles Lord of La Ferté-Bernard and Sablé. He was blamed for Louis premature death and the collapse of the expedition, on his return to Paris, he was publicly upbraided by Louis brother, John, Duke of Berry. In 1391, Craon was abruptly expelled from the court in Paris and he blamed de Clisson, encouraged by Clissons enemy John IV, Duke of Brittany. After a period in Brittany, he returned to Paris in secret and he waylaid Clisson in a narrow street. Clissons unarmed servants fled, but Clisson was saved from death by his chainmail coat, in the struggle, he fell from his horse and was knocked out against the door of a bakers shop. Believing him dead, Craon fled Paris for Brittany, in fact Clisson was only superficially injured. In the aftermath of the attack, several of Craons servants in Paris were arrested and executed for assisting him, Craons property was seized and his castle in Porchefontaine near Versailles was razed to the ground. Clissons enemies at court blamed him for provoking the disaster, Clisson himself then fled to Brittany, to become a lifelong ally of his old enemy John IV. Craon was forced to move from place to place, at last seeking refuge with Richard II of England, Craon was imprisoned in the Louvre, but was soon released following interventions by the Queen of England and the Duchess of Burgundy. A deal was made over the money and Craon made penance for his crimes, in an unprecedented move, he was made confessor to some monks who had been convicted of bewitching the king. He erected a cross bearing his coat of arms at the gallows of Paris and he also donated money to the Conventual Franciscans, dedicating them to acts of mercy. The date of Craons death is not known and his son Antoine de Craon was implicated in the murder of Louis I, Duke of Orléans and was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415

33.
Bal des Ardents
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The Bal des Ardents or Bal des Sauvages was a masquerade ball held on 28 January 1393 in Paris at which Charles VI of France performed in a dance with five members of the French nobility. Four of the dancers were killed in a fire caused by a torch brought in by a spectator, Charless brother Louis, Charles and the remaining dancer, the noble knight Ogier de Nantouillet, survived. The ball was one of a number of events intended to entertain the young king, the event undermined confidence in Charless capacity to rule, Parisians considered it proof of courtly decadence and threatened to rebel against the more powerful members of the nobility. The publics outrage forced the King and his brother Orléans, whom a contemporary chronicler accused of attempted regicide and sorcery, Charless wife, Isabeau of Bavaria, held the ball to honor the remarriage of a lady-in-waiting. The incident later provided inspiration for Edgar Allan Poes short story Hop-Frog, in 1380, after the death of his father Charles V of France, the 12-year-old Charles VI was crowned king, beginning his minority with his four uncles acting as regents. In 1387, the 20-year-old Charles assumed sole control of the monarchy and immediately dismissed his uncles and reinstated the Marmousets and they wish to deliver me to the enemy. He killed four men before his chamberlain grabbed him by the waist and subdued him, the comatose king was returned to Le Mans, where Guillaume de Harsigny—a venerated and well-educated 92-year-old physician—was summoned to treat him. After Charles regained consciousness, and his fever subsided, he was returned to Paris by Harsigny, moving slowly from castle to castle, with periods of rest in between. Late in September Charles was well enough to make a pilgrimage of thanks to Notre Dame de Liesse near Laon after which he returned again to Paris. Charles continued to be fragile, believing he was made of glass. Contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart wrote that the Kings illness was so severe that he was far out of the way, no medicine could help him. Isabeau eventually became guardian to her son, the future Charles VII of France, granting her great political power and he told the Kings advisors to be careful not to worry or irritate him. Burden him with work as little as you can, pleasure, to surround Charles with a festive atmosphere and to protect him from the rigor of governing, the court turned to elaborate amusements and extravagant fashions. The common people thought the extravagances excessive yet loved their young king, blame for unnecessary excess and expense was directed at the foreign queen, who was brought from Bavaria at the request of Charless uncles. Neither Isabeau nor her sister-in-law Valentina—daughter of the ruthless Duke of Milan—were well liked by either the court or the people. Froissart wrote in his Chronicles that Charless uncles were content to allow the frivolities because so long as the Queen, on 28 January 1393, Isabeau held a masquerade at the Hôtel Saint-Pol to celebrate the third marriage of her lady-in-waiting, Catherine de Fastaverin. On the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, whom Tuchman describes as well known for his outrageous schemes and cruelty, six high-ranking knights performed a dance in costume as wood savages. The costumes, which were sewn onto the men, were made of linen soaked with resin to which flax was attached so that they appeared shaggy, masks made of the same materials covered the dancers faces and hid their identities from the audience

34.
Woodwose
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The defining characteristic of the figure is its wildness, from the 12th century they were consistently depicted as being covered with hair. The image of the man survived to appear as supporter for heraldic coats-of-arms, especially in Germany. Renaissance engravers in Germany and Italy were particularly fond of men, wild women. The first element of woodwose is usually explained as from wudu wood, the second element is less clear. It has been identified as a hypothetical noun *wāsa being, from the verb wesan, wosan to be, the Old English form is unattested, but it would have been *wudu-wāsa or *wude-wāsa. It may also mean a forlorn or abandoned person, cognate with the German Waise, terminology in the Middle Ages was more varied. In Middle English, there was the term woodwose, wodwos occurs in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Old High German had schrat, scrato or scrazo, which appear in glosses of Latin works as translations for fauni, silvestres, or pilosi, some of the local names suggest connections with figures from ancient mythology. Common in Lombardy and the Italian-speaking parts of the Alps is the term salvan or salvang, which derives from the Latin Silvanus, the name of the Roman tutelary god of gardens and the countryside. Similarly, folklore in Tyrol and German-speaking Switzerland into the 20th century included a woman known as Fange or Fanke, which derives from the Latin fauna. Various languages and traditions include names suggesting affinities with Orcus, a Roman, for many years people in Tyrol called the wild man Orke, Lorke, or Noerglein, while in parts of Italy he was the orco or huorco. The French ogre has the same derivation, as do modern literary orcs, importantly, Orcus is associated with Maia in a dance celebrated late enough to be condemned in a 9th- or 10th-century Spanish penitential. The term was replaced in literature of the Early Modern English period by classically derived equivalents, or wild man. Wild man and its cognates is the term for the creature in most modern languages, it appears in German as wilder Mann, in French as homme sauvage. Figures similar to the European wild man occur worldwide from very early times, the earliest recorded example of the type is the character Enkidu in the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. The portrayal of Nebuchadnezzar II in the Book of Daniel greatly influenced the medieval European concepts, Daniel 4 depicts God humbling the Babylonian king for his boastfulness, stricken mad and ejected from human society, he grows hair on his body and lives like a beast. This image was popular in medieval depictions of Nebuchadnezzar, similarly, late medieval legends of Saint John Chrysostom portray the saints asceticism as making him so isolated and feral that hunters who capture him cannot tell if he is man or beast. The medieval wild-man concept also drew on lore about similar beings from the Classical world such as the Roman faun, several folk traditions about the wild man correspond with ancient practices and beliefs

Woodwose
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Wild men support coats of arms in the side panels of a portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1499 (Alte Pinakothek, Munich)
Woodwose
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The Fight in the Forest, drawing by Hans Burgkmair, possibly of a scene from the Middle High German poem Sigenot, about Dietrich von Bern
Woodwose
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Wild people, in the margins of a late 14th-century illumination
Woodwose
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Pedro Gonzalez

35.
Joanna II of Auvergne
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Joan II, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne, also known as Jeanne de Boulogne, and Joan, Duchess of Berry, was the daughter of John II of Auvergne, and second wife of John, Duke of Berry. She is arguably most famous for saving the life of her nephew, King Charles VI of France, Joan was born c.1378 to John II, Count of Auvergne and Boulogne and his wife Alenor de Comiinges. Joans mother was a descendant of Peter II of Courtenay, Emperor of Constantinople, in 1389, Joan was married to John, Duke of Berry, a son of John II of France, whose wife had died in the previous year. At the age of fifteen, Joan was present at the infamous Bal des Ardents given by Queen Isabeau, wife of the Duke of Berrys nephew King Charles, on 28 January 1393. At length, the King became separated from the others, and made his way to the Duchess, who jokingly refused to let him wander off again until he told her his name. When Charles brother, Louis of Orléans, accidentally set the other dancers on fire, Joan swathed the King in her skirts, protecting him from the flames, upon her fathers death in 1394, Joan became Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. Joan was widowed upon the death of the Duke of Berry in 1416 and she married Georges de la Trémoille soon after, however, they produced no children, and the counties passed to her cousin, Marie I of Auvergne, upon her death in 1424. Echols, Anne and Marty Williams, An Annotated Index of Medieval Women, key Figures in Medieval Europe, An Encyclopedia

Joanna II of Auvergne
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Hans Holbein's drawing of a sculpture of Jeanne d'Auvergne, Duchess of Berry, by Jean de Cambrai, Black and coloured chalk, 39.6 × 27.5 cm, Kunstmuseum Basel. Holbein drew this picture and its companion piece, Jean de France, Duke of Berry, during a visit to France in 1523/24.
Joanna II of Auvergne
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The Bal des Ardents
Joanna II of Auvergne
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Joan covers the King with her dress

36.
Capetian Dynasty
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The Capetian dynasty /kəˈpiːʃən/, also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, the senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. They were succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and Bourbon, the dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French state. Initially obeyed only in their own demesne, the Île-de-France, the Capetian kings slowly but steadily increased their power, for a detailed narration on the growth of French royal power, see Crown lands of France. Members of the dynasty were traditionally Catholic, the early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of five Crusader Kings – Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Saint Louis, the Capetian alliance with the papacy suffered a severe blow after the disaster of the Aragonese Crusade. Philip IIIs son and successor, Philip IV, humiliated a pope, the later Valois, starting with Francis I, ignored religious differences and allied with the Ottoman Sultan to counter the growing power of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry IV was a Protestant at the time of his accession, the Capetians generally enjoyed a harmonious family relationship. By tradition, younger sons and brothers of the King of France are given appanages for them to maintain their rank, when Capetian cadets did aspire for kingship, their ambitions were directed not at the French throne, but at foreign thrones. Through this, the Capetians spread widely over Europe, in modern times, both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are members of this family, both through the Bourbon branch of the dynasty. Along with the House of Habsburg, it was one of the two most powerful continental European royal families, dominating European politics for five centuries. The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, the meaning of Capet is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with cape, other suggestions suggest it to be connected to the Latin word caput, historians in the 19th century came to apply the name Capetian to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice, the name Capet has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were referred to as Louis, the dynastic surname now used to describe Hugh Capets family prior to his election as King of France is Robertians or Robertines. The name is derived from the familys first certain ancestor, Robert the Strong, Robert was probably son of Robert III of Worms and grandson of Robert of Hesbaye. The Robertians probably originated in the county Hesbaye, around Tongeren in modern-day Belgium, the sons of Robert the Strong were Odo and Robert, who both ruled as king of Western Francia. The family became Counts of Paris under Odo and Dukes of the Franks under Robert, the Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V

37.
Louis I of Anjou
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Louis I was the second son of John II of France and the founder of the Angevin branch of the French royal house. Bonne of Bohemia gave birth to him at the Château de Vincennes and his father appointed him Count of Anjou and Count of Maine in 1356, and then raised him to the title Duke of Anjou in 1360 and Duke of Touraine in 1370. In 1382, as the son of Joan I, he succeeded to the counties of Provence. He also inherited from her a claim to the kingdoms of Naples and he was already a veteran of the Hundred Years War against the English when he led an army into Italy to claim his Neapolitan inheritance. He died on the march and his claims and titles fell to his son and namesake, Louis II, Louis was present at the Battle of Poitiers, in the battalion commanded by his brother Charles, the Dauphin. They hardly fought and the group escaped in the middle of the confrontation. Although humiliating, their flight allowed them to capture by the English. King John II and Louis younger brother Philip were not so fortunate and were captured by the English, commanded by Edward and their ransom and peace conditions between France and England were agreed in the Treaty of Brétigny, signed in 1360. Amongst the complicated items of the treaty was a clause that determined the surrender of 40 high-born hostages as guarantee for the payment of the kings ransom, Louis, already Duke of Anjou, was in this group and sailed to England in October 1360. However, France was not in good condition and further installments of the debt were delayed. As consequence, Louis was in English custody for more than the expected six months. He tried to negotiate his freedom in a negotiation with Edward III of England and. On his return to France, he met his fathers disapproval for his unknightly behavior, from 1380 to 1382 Louis served as regent for his nephew, King Charles VI of France. In 1382 Louis left France in the year to claim the throne of Naples following the death of Queen Joanna I. She had adopted him to succeed her, as she was childless and did not wish to leave her inheritance to any of her close relatives and he was also able to succeed her as count of Provence and Forcalquier. The expedition, counting to some 40,000 troops, was however unsuccessful, amadeus fell ill and died in Molise on 1 March 1383 and his troops abandoned the field. Louis asked for help from his nephew in France, who sent him an army under Enguerrand of Coucy. The latter was able to conquer Arezzo and then invade the Kingdom of Naples and he soon sold Arezzo to Florence and returned to France

Louis I of Anjou
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15th-century portrait of Louis

38.
Louis XI of France
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Louis XI, called the Prudent, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father Charles VII. Louis was a devious, the king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné, then a province in southeastern France. Louiss ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to him from court. From the Dauphiné, Louis led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Philip the Good, when Charles VII died in 1461, Louis left the Burgundian court to take possession of his kingdom. His taste for intrigue and his diplomatic activity earned him the nicknames the Cunning. In 1472, the subsequent Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, however, Louis was able to isolate Charles from his English allies by signing the Treaty of Picquigny with Edward IV of England. The treaty formally ended the Hundred Years War, with the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out. Louis took advantage of the situation to seize numerous Burgundian territories, including Burgundy proper, without direct foreign threats, Louis was able to eliminate his rebellious vassals, expand royal power, and strengthen the economic development of his country. He died in 1483 and was succeeded by his son Charles VIII, Louis was born in Bourges on 3 July 1423, the son of King Charles VII of France. At the time of the Hundred Years War, the English held northern France, including the city of Paris, and Charles VII was restricted to the centre and south of the country. Louis was the grandson of Yolande of Aragon, who was a force in the family for driving the English out of France. Just a few weeks after Louiss christening at the Cathedral of St. Étienne on 4 July 1423, shortly thereafter, a combined Anglo-Burgundian army threatened Bourges itself. Duke Philip II was the reigning Duke of Burgundy while he was king, phillip was an uncle of King Charles VI, and he actually served on a council of regents for King Charles. The Dukes of Anjou, Berry, and Bourbon, all uncles of Charles VI, all effective power in France actually lay with this council of dukes. In its position of independence from the French throne, Burgundy had grown in size, during the Hundred Years War, the Burgundians allied themselves with England against the French crown. Indeed, the Burgundians were responsible for the capture of Joan of Arc, Joan later led troops in other victories at the Battle of Jargeau and the Battle of Patay. Nevertheless, Louis grew up aware of the weakness of the French nation

Louis XI of France
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Louis XI wearing his Order of Saint Michael
Louis XI of France
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Engraving of Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
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In this painting by Jean Fouquet, Louis' father Charles VII is depicted as one of the three magi and it is assumed that Louis, then Dauphin, is one of the other two.
Louis XI of France
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Coin of Louis XI, struck ca. 1470

39.
Charles VIII of France
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Charles VIII, called the Affable, French, lAffable, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13 and his elder sister Anne of France acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon until 1491 when the young king turned 21 years of age. During Annes regency, the great lords rebelled against royal centralisation efforts in a known as the Mad War. Preoccupied by the succession in the Kingdom of Hungary, Maximilian failed to press his claim. Upon his marriage, Charles became administrator of Brittany and established a union that enabled France to avoid total encirclement by Habsburg territories. The coalition formed against the French invasion of 1494-98 finally drove out Charles army, Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door. Since he had no heir, he was succeeded by his cousin Louis XII of France from the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois. Charles was born at the Château dAmboise in France, the surviving son of King Louis XI by his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Charles succeeded to the throne on 30 August 1483 at the age of 13 and he was regarded by his contemporaries as possessing a pleasant disposition, but also as foolish and unsuited for the business of the state. She would rule as regent, together with her husband Peter of Bourbon, Charles was betrothed on 22 July 1483 to the 3-year-old Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. The marriage was arranged by Louis XI, Maximilian, and the Estates of the Low Countries as part of the 1482 Peace of Arras between France and the Duchy of Burgundy. Margaret brought the Counties of Artois and Burgundy to France as her dowry, in 1488, however, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, died in a riding accident, leaving his 11-year-old daughter Anne as his heiress. The Regent Anne of France and her husband Peter refused to countenance such a marriage, however, since it would place Maximilian and his family, the Habsburgs, on two French borders. The French army invaded Brittany, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Frederick III and his son with the succession to Mathias Corvinus. Anne of Brittany was forced to renounce Maximilian and agree to be married to Charles VIII instead, in December 1491, in an elaborate ceremony at the Château de Langeais, Charles and Anne of Brittany were married. The 14-year-old Duchess Anne, not happy with the arranged marriage, however, Charless marriage brought him independence from his relatives and thereafter he managed affairs according to his own inclinations. Queen Anne lived at the Clos Lucé in Amboise, there still remained the matter of Charles first betrothed, the young Margaret of Austria. Although the cancellation of her betrothal meant that she by rights should have returned to her family, Charles did not initially do so

40.
Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War
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The Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War was a civil war between two cadet branches of the French royal family — the House of Orleans and the House of Burgundy from 1407 to 1435. It began during a lull in the Hundred Years War against the English, the wars causes were rooted in the reign of Charles VI of France and a confrontation between two different economic, social and religious systems. The Burgundians were in favour of the English model, while the Armagnacs defended the French model. In the same way, the Western Schism induced the election of an Armagnac-backed antipope based at Avignon, Pope Clement VII, opposed by the English-backed pope of Rome, Pope Urban VI. With Charles VI mentally ill, from 1393, his wife Isabeau of Bavaria presided over a regency counsel, the uncle of Charles VI, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who acted as regent during the kings minority, was a great influence on the queen. This influence progressively shifted to Louis I, Duke of Orléans, the brother, and it was suspected. On the death of Philip the Bold, his son John the Fearless again lost influence at court, to oppose the territorial expansion of the dukedom of Burgundy, the duke of Orléans acquired Luxembourg in 1402. The Duke of Orléans, son-in-law of John Galéas Visconti and holding the title for more or less hypothetical fiefdoms in the peninsula, wanted to let Charles VI intervene militarily in his favor. The quarrel at first respected all forms of courtesy, John the Fearless adopted the nettle as his emblem, whilst Louis of Orléans chose the gnarled stick, ousted from power and toyed with by Louis, this was too much for John the Fearless. He thus won over the merchants, the people and the university. John threatened Paris in 1405 with a demonstration of his power, thomas de Courteheuse then sent word to Louis that the king, Charles VI of France, urgently needed him at hôtel Saint-Paul. Leaving the Hôtel Barbette, Louis was stabbed by fifteen masked criminals led by Raoulet dAnquetonville, louiss escort of valets and guards were powerless to protect him. John had the support of Pariss population and university, whom he had won over by promising the establishment of an ordinance like that of 1357, the assassination thus finally unleashed a civil war that would last 30 years. The marriage gave the Orleans faction a new head to replace Louis, other members of the leagues included the dukes of Berry, Bourbon and Brittany, as well as the counts of Alençon and Clermont. Bernard VII recruited warbands in the Midi that fought with unheard-of ferocity, at their head, he ravaged the vicinity of Paris and advanced into the Saint-Marcel suburb. A new treaty, signed at Bicêtre on November 2,1410, suspended hostilities, in October 1411, with an army 60,000 strong, the duke of Burgundy entered Paris and attacked the Bretons allied to the Armagnacs, who had retrenched at La Chapelle. He had to withdraw in the end but, in the night of 8 to 9 November, he left via the porte Saint-Jacques, marched across Saint-Cloud and decisively defeated the Écorcheurs. Then John the Fearless pursued the princes of Orléans and their allies to Bourges, which Orléans was besieging, another peace was signed at Bourges on July 15,1412 and confirmed at Auxerre on August 22

Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War
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The Cabochien Revolt
Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War
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Louis of Orléans unveiling a mistress - Eugène Delacroix
Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War
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Assassination of Louis of Orleans in Paris
Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War
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John the Fearless - head of the Burgundian party - sporting the "rabotures"

41.
Battle of Agincourt
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The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years War. The battle took place on Friday,25 October 1415 in the County of Saint-Pol, Artois, Henry V led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation, instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles dAlbret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, the battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, the approximate location of the battle has never been in dispute and the place remains relatively unaltered even after 600 years. Two of the most frequently cited accounts come from Burgundian sources, one from Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, who was present at the battle, Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. He initially called a Great Council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, Henry would marry Princess Catherine, the young daughter of Charles VI, and receive a dowry of 2 million crowns. The French responded with what they considered the terms of marriage with Princess Catherine, a dowry of 600,000 crowns. By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a double subsidy, on 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the Great Council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed. The siege took longer than expected, the town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The campaign season was coming to an end, and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease and he also intended the manoeuvre as a deliberate provocation to battle aimed at the dauphin, who had failed to respond to Henrys personal challenge to combat at Harfleur. The French had raised an army during the siege which assembled around Rouen and this was not strictly a feudal army, but an army paid through a system similar to the English. The French hoped to raise 9,000 troops, but the army was not ready in time to relieve Harfleur, after Henry V marched to the north, the French moved to block them along the River Somme. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, the English finally crossed the Somme south of Péronne, at Béthencourt and Voyennes and resumed marching north. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle and they shadowed Henrys army while calling a semonce des nobles, calling on local nobles to join the army. By 24 October, both faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. The two armies spent the night of 24 October on open ground, the English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two and a half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms

Battle of Agincourt
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The Battle of Agincourt, 15th-century miniature
Battle of Agincourt
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1915 depiction of Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt: The King wears on this surcoat the Royal Arms of England, quartered with the Fleur de Lys of France as a symbol of his claim to the throne of France.
Battle of Agincourt
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The 15th century Agincourt Carol
Battle of Agincourt
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Battlefield today

42.
English Kings of France
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From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the nephew of the last direct Capetian. Despite this, English and British monarchs continued to call themselves kings of France. This continued until 1801, by which time France had no monarch, the Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim. The title was first assumed in 1340 by Edward III of England, Edward III claimed the throne of France after the death of his uncle Charles IV of France. At the time of Charles IVs death in 1328, Edward was his nearest male relative through Edwards mother Isabella of France, since the election of Hugh Capet in 987, the French crown had always passed based on male-line relations. There was no precedent for succeeding to the French throne based on his maternal ancestry. Philip arranged for his coronation, and became Philip V of France and he was challenged by the supporters of the Princess Joan, daughter of Louis X, on the basis of his right to the throne. In response, he convened an assembly of prelates, barons, and burgesses at Paris, who acknowledged him as their lawful king, at the time of Charless death in 1328, there was once again a dispute over the succession. At the time, Edward paid homage to Philip VI for his Duchy of Aquitaine, however, in 1337, Edward, in his capacity as Duke of Aquitaine, refused to pay homage to Philip. The decision to assume the title of King of France was made at the solicitation of his Flemish allies, who had signed a treaty that they would no longer attack the French king. They said that if Edward took the French royal title, then the Flemish would be able to keep their honor, Edward continued to use this title until the Treaty of Brétigny on 8 May 1360, when he abandoned his claims in return for substantial lands in France. After the resumption of hostilities between the English and the French in 1369, however, Edward resumed his claim and the title of King of France, Henry V then adopted the title Heir of France instead. Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, and Henry Vs infant son Henry VI became King of France. He was the only English king who was de facto King of France, however, by 1429 Charles VII, with the support of Joan of Arc, had been crowned at Reims and begun to push the English out of northern France. The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558, nonetheless the kings and queens of England continued to claim the French throne for centuries, through the early modern period. The words of France was prominently included among their realms as listed in their titles and styles, and this continued until 1801, by which time France had no monarch, having become a republic. Henry V, King of England Henry VI, King of England, succeeded as King of France upon the death of Charles VI, according to the Treaty of Troyes

English Kings of France
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English stained glass window from c. 1350–77, showing the coat of arms of Edward III, which featured the three lions of England quartered with the fleurs-de-lys of France.

43.
Notre Dame de Paris
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Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture, as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris, currently Cardinal André Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury contains a reliquary, which some of Catholicisms most important relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration in the phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845, a project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991. The Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress, in response, the cathedrals architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. The total surface area is 5,500 m², many small individually crafted statues were placed around the outside to serve as column supports and water spouts. Among these are the famous gargoyles, designed for water run-off, the statues were originally colored as was most of the exterior. The cathedral was complete by 1345. It is possible therefore that the faults with the structure were exaggerated by the Bishop to help justify the rebuilding in a newer style. According to legend, Sully had a vision of a new cathedral for Paris. To begin the construction, the bishop had several houses demolished and had a new road built to transport materials for the rest of the cathedral. Construction began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII, however, both were at the ceremony. Bishop de Sully went on to devote most of his life, construction of the choir took from 1163 until around 1177 and the new High Altar was consecrated in 1182. By this stage, the facade had also been laid out. Numerous architects worked on the site over the period of construction, between 1210 and 1220, the fourth architect oversaw the construction of the level with the rose window and the great halls beneath the towers. Shortly afterwards Pierre de Montreuil executed a similar scheme on the southern transept,1160 Maurice de Sully orders the original cathedral demolished

Notre Dame de Paris
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The southern facade of Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
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The western facade illuminated at night
Notre Dame de Paris
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The spire and east side of the cathedral
Notre Dame de Paris
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The Archaeological Crypt of Notre-Dame de Paris.

44.
Bourges
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Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the province of Berry. The name of the city derives either from the Bituriges, the name of the inhabitants, or from the Germanic Burg. The Celts called it Avaricon, Latin-speakers, Avaricum, following the siege of Avaricum in the winter of 52 BC, Julius Caesars forces destroyed the city and killed all but 800 of its inhabitants. Rome reconstructed Avaricum as a Roman city, with a gate, aqueducts, thermae. The massive walls surrounding the late Roman city, enclosing 40 hectares, were built in part with stone re-used from earlier public buildings, the third-century AD Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the city. Bourges is the seat of an archbishopric, during the 8th century Bourges lay on the northern fringes of the Duchy of Aquitaine and was therefore the first town to come under Frankish attacks when the Franks crossed the Loire. The Frankish Charles Martel captured the town in 731, but Duke Odo the Great of Aquitaine immediately re-took it, the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, ranks as a World Heritage Site. It is considered as one of the earliest examples of the High Gothic style of the thirteenth century, during the Middle Ages, Bourges served as the capital of the Viscounty of Bourges until 1101. In the fourteenth century it became the capital of the Duchy of Berry, the future king of France, Charles VII, sought refuge there in the 1420s during the Hundred Years War. His son, Louis XI, was there in 1423. In 1438, Charles VII decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, during this period, Bourges was also a major capital of alchemy. The city has a tradition of art and history. Apart from the cathedral, other sites of importance include the 15th-century Palace of Jacques Cœur, Bourges sits at the river junction where the Auron flows into the Yèvre. The disused Canal de Berry follows alongside the course of the Auron through Bourges, the A71 motorway connects Bourges with Orléans and Clermont-Ferrand. Bourges Airport is a regional airport. Bourges principal football team are Bourges Football 18 and it is also home to the womens basketball club CJM Bourges Basket, which has won multiple titles in domestic and European basketball. Bourges XV is the rugby team in the region, currently playing in French National Division

45.
Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
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Robert II of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy between 1272 and 1306. Robert was the son of duke Hugh IV and Yolande of Dreux. This was followed by two years of warfare which was ended when King Philip IV of France paid Robert 20,000 livres tournois to renounce his claim to the Dauphiné. Robert ended the practice of giving away parts of the Burgundian estate to younger sons, from then on, the whole duchy, however already diminished by earlier dowries, passed unfragmented to the eldest son

Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
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Robert II, Duke of Burgundy

46.
John I of Bohemia
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John the Blind was the Count of Luxembourg from 1309 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He was the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII and he is well known for having died while fighting in the Battle of Crécy at age 50, after having been blind for a decade. Raised in Paris, John was French by education, but deeply involved in the politics of Germany, in 1310 his father arranged the marriage of the 14-year-old to Elisabeth from the Přemyslid dynasty, sister of the deceased King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia. The Castle at Prague was uninhabitable so John made residence in one of the houses on the Old Town Square and he thereby became one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and – in succession of Wenceslaus III – claimant to the Polish and Hungarian throne. His attempts to follow his father as King of the Romans failed with the election of Louis IV of Wittelsbach in 1314. He later would support Louis in his rivalry with Frederick the Fair of Habsburg, culminating in the 1322 Battle of Mühldorf, like his predecessor Henry, he was disliked by much of the Czech nobility. John was considered to be a king and gave up the administration of Bohemia after a while. He parted ways with his wife and left the Czech country to be ruled by the barons while spending time in Luxembourg and his travels took him to Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Tyrol, Northern Italy and Papal Avignon. A rival of King Władysław I the Elbow-high to the Polish crown and he also made several Silesian dukes swear an oath of allegiance to him. In 1335 in Congress of Visegrád, Władysławs successor King Casimir III the Great of Poland paid a significant amount of money in exchange for Johns giving up his claim to the Polish throne. John lost his eyesight at age 39 or 40 from ophthalmia in 1336, a treatment by the famous physician Guy de Chauliac had no positive effects. At the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1337 he allied with King Philip VI of France and was governor of Languedoc from 30 November 1338 to November 1340. At the Battle of Crécy in 1346 John controlled Phillips advanced guard along with controlling the large contingents of Charles II of Alençon and Louis I, John was killed at age 50 while fighting against the English during the battle. His men said, Sir, we cannot tell, we think he be fighting. Then he said, Sirs, ye are my men, my companions and friends in this journey, I require you bring me so far forward, the legend, which first appeared in 1614, has been proved to be false. John was succeeded as King of Bohemia by his eldest son Charles, in Luxembourg, he was succeeded by his son by his second wife, Wenceslaus. The manner of his death gave rise to the obsolescent idiom, to fight like King John of Bohemia, one of John of Luxembourg’s first steps as king was the re-establishment of authority and to secure peace within the country. Although the aristocracy was encouraged to raise armies when peace within the country was threatened, on the other hand, the king’s right to appoint a foreign official to office was abolished

John I of Bohemia
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John's wedding to Elisabeth of Bohemia at Speyer
John I of Bohemia
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John I as King of Bohemia
John I of Bohemia
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Battle of Crecy
John I of Bohemia
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Seal of John the Blind. The Latin inscription on the border of the seal reads: IOHANNES DEI GRAT BOEMIE ET POL REX LVCEMBVRG COMES

47.
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia
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Wenceslaus II Přemyslid was King of Bohemia, Duke of Cracow, and King of Poland. He was the son of King Ottokar II of Bohemia. He was born in 1271, ten years after the marriage of his parents, Kunigunda was the daughter of Rostislav Mikhailovich, lord of Slavonia, son of a Grand Prince of Kiev, and Anna of Hungary, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. His great-grandfather was the German king Philip of Swabia, Wenceslaus II was the grandfather of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, in 1276 Rudolf I, King of the Romans, placed Ottokar under the ban of the empire and besieged Vienna. This compelled Ottokar in November 1276 to sign a new treaty by which he gave up all claims to Austria, Ottokars son Wenceslaus was also betrothed to Rudolphs daughter Judith. Wenceslauss father died on 26 August 1278 in the Battle on the Marchfeld shortly before Wenceslaus seventh birthday, before Wenceslaus became of age, the government was handled by Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg, who is said to have held Wenceslaus captive in several locations. He returned to Bohemia in 1283, at the age of twelve and his mothers second husband, Záviš of Falkenštejn, ruled instead of him for a few years. On 24 January 1285, Wenceslaus married Judith of Habsburg, daughter of Rudolf I, in 1290, Wenceslaus had Záviš beheaded for alleged treason and began ruling independently. In 1291, Przemysł II, High Duke of Poland, ceded the sovereign Duchy of Kraków to Wenceslaus, Kraków was associated with the overlordship of Poland, but Przemysł held the other duchies and in 1295 was crowned King of Poland. After Przemysłs death in 1296, Wenceslaus became overlord of Poland and in 1300, in 1298, silver was discovered at Kutná Hora in Central Bohemia. Wenceslaus took control of the mine by making silver production a royal monopoly and issued the Prague groschen, Kutná Hora was one of the richest European silver strikes ever, between 1300 and 1340 the mine may have produced as much as 20 tons of silver a year. In 1300, Wenceslaus issued the new mining code Ius regale montanorum. This was a document that specified all administrative as well as technical terms. Wenceslaus second wife was Elisabeth Richeza, daughter of Przemysł II, later she remarried to Rudolph of Habsburg, duke of Austria, who also became king of Bohemia for a brief period in those unruly years. In 1301, Wenceslaus kinsman Andrew III of Hungary died and the dynasty became extinct in the male line. Wenceslaus was one of the relatives who claimed the throne, and he accepted it from a party of Hungarians on behalf of his son, betrothed to Andrews only child. On 27 August 1301, his son was crowned in Székesfehérvár as King of Hungary under the name Ladislaus V, but the Abas and Matthew Csák switched sides in 1303 and started to support Wenceslaus rival Charles Robert of Anjou

48.
Judith of Habsburg
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Judith of Habsburg was the youngest daughter of Rudolph I of Germany and his wife Gertrude of Hohenburg. Judith was a member of the Habsburg family, when Judith was five, she became the object of her fathers political plans. Her father signed the Vienna peace treaty with Premysl Otakar II of Bohemia, Judiths sisters also married powerful kings and dukes, her sister Klementia married Charles Martel of Anjou, son of Charles II of Naples, and her sister Matilda married Louis II, Duke of Bavaria. The formal marriage was in 1279 in Jihlava, the marriage took place in early 1285 in Cheb. The wedding in Cheb was followed by a wedding night. Wenceslaus IIs coronation had to be canceled because Judith was not present and she did eventually leave her family in Germany and came to Prague to be with her husband. Like her father, Judith hated Zavis, Lord of Falkenstein and he had acted as regent with the Dowager Queen, Kunigunda of Slavonia, whom he secretly married. Judith helped bring Zavis to trial and he was executed in 1290. Judith tried to reconcile her husband and Albert I of Germany and she also brought German influences to the Prague court, like the introduction of knights at court. She made Prague a cultural centre, Judith and her husband Wenceslaus II were crowned Queen and King of Bohemia in 1297. Judith was not in good health during the time of the coronation having just given birth to her tenth child, according to the family chronicles, Judith was described as beautiful, noble and virtuous. She supported her husbands claim on Poland, Judith died 21 May 1297 in Prague, aged only twenty six. She was having constant pregnancies over the years of marriage. Worn out by childbirth, Judith died weeks after giving birth to her youngest child and namesake and her husband went on to marry Elisabeth Richeza of Poland who bore him a daughter, Agnes. All of the Habsburg rulers of Bohemia from 1526 onward were descended from Judith through her daughter Elizabeth, Wenceslaus II and Judith had ten children, Přemysl Otakar. Wenceslaus III, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and King of Poland, Agnes, twin of Wenceslaus III, betrothed to Rupert, son of Adolf, King of Germany but died young. Anna, married in 1306 to Henry of Carinthia, Elisabeth, married in 1310 to John I of Bohemia. Margareta, married to Bolesław III the Generous, Duke of Wrocław, of the ten children only four lived to adulthood

Judith of Habsburg
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Judith of Habsburg
Judith of Habsburg
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Judith's tombstone in the Convent of Saint Agnes of Bohemia in Prague

49.
John II, Count of Holland
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John II of Avesnes was Count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland. John II, born 1247, was the oldest son of John I of Avesnes and Adelaide of Holland, daughter of Floris IV and he was Count of Hainaut from 1280 to his death and Count of Holland from 1299 until his death. John continued the war between the House of Dampierre and the House of Avesnes against count Guy of Flanders for imperial Flanders. He became Count of Holland in 1299 with the death of John I, Count of Holland, through his mother Adelaide of Holland, heiress, the personal union he established between Hainaut and Holland–Zeeland lasted for another half-century. His cousin, Count Floris V, was fighting against Flanders for Zeeland and he sought help of France against Flanders. The French defeated the Flemish in 1300 and 1301, the rebels in Zeeland were defeated as well. Johns brother, Guy of Avesnes, became Bishop of Utrecht, so all his main enemies were gone. The tide changed dramatically after a Flemish uprising and the defeat of the French army at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, Flemish patriots attacked Hainaut and Zeeland supported by the dissatisfied population there. Guy of Namur defeated Johns son, William, in a battle on the island of Duiveland, Bishop Guy of Utrecht was taken prisoner. Guy of Namur and Duke John II of Brabant conquered most of Utrecht, Holland, Guy of Namur was finally defeated in 1304 by the fleet of Holland and France at the naval Battle of Zierikzee. John II regained most of his authority when he died in the same year, in 1270, John married Philippa of Luxembourg, daughter of Count Henry V of Luxembourg and Margaret of Bar. Their children were, John, Lord of Beaumont, Count of Ostervant, William I, Count of Hainaut He succeeded his father in 1304. Married Joan of Valois, daughter of Charles, Count of Valois and he was married to Margaret, Countess de Soissons. Margaret, married Robert II of Artois, who was killed at the Battle of the Golden Spurs,11 July 1302, alice or Alix, who married 1290 Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had no issue. Isabelle, married Raoul de Clermont Lord of Nesle, who was killed in battle at the Battle of the Golden Spurs,11 July 1302, mary of Avesnes, married Louis I, Duke of Bourbon. Willem de Cuser Aleid van Zandenburg, who was married firstly to Wolfert II of Borselen, lord of Veere, Counts of Hainaut family tree Counts of Holland family tree

John II, Count of Holland
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John II

50.
Philippa of Luxembourg
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Philippa of Luxembourg was the daughter of Count Henry V of Luxembourg and his wife, Marguerite of Bar. She married John II, Count of Holland, two of her granddaughters were Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of England, and Margaret II, Countess of Hainault in her own right and wife of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. Margaret, wife of Robert II of Artois Alix, wife of Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk Isabelle, wife of Raoul de Clermont, Seigneur de Nesle. Jeanne, nun at Fontenelles Mary of Avesnes, wife of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon Matilda, Abbess of Nivelles Willem de Cuser Philippa de Luxembourg

Philippa of Luxembourg
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Melis Stoke at the court of count John II of Avesnes, count of Holland and Zeeland.

51.
Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France
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Isabella, infanta of Aragon, was by marriage Queen consort of France from 1270 to 1271. Isabella was the daughter of King James I of Aragon and his second wife Violant of Hungary, in Clermont on 28 May 1262, Isabella married the future Philip III of France, son of Louis IX and Margaret of Provence. They had four sons, Louis Philip IV the Fair, King of France Robert Charles, on their way home, they stopped in Cosenza, Calabria. Six months pregnant with her child, on 11 January 1271 she suffered a fall from her horse after they had resumed the trip back to France. Isabella gave birth to a stillborn son. She never recovered from her injuries and the childbirth, and died seventeen days later and her husband took her body and their stillborn son and, when he finally returned to France, buried her in the Basilica of St Denis. Her tomb, like others, was desecrated during the French Revolution in 1793. Los testamentos de Jaime I, Repartos territoriales y turbulencias políticas, cuadernos, Centro de Estudios de Monzón y Cinca Media, 61–90. Ángel Canellas López, e-edition by José Javier Iso, María Isabel Yagüe, diputación de Zaragoza, «Institución Fernando el Católico»

Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France
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Isabella

52.
Abbess
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In Christianity, an abbess is the female superior of a community of nuns, which is often an abbey. In the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Anglican abbeys, the mode of election, position, rights and she must be at least 40 years old and have been a nun for 10 years. The age requirement in the Catholic Church has evolved over time, the requirement of 10 years as a nun is only 8 in Catholicism. In the rare case of not being a nun with the qualifications. The office is elective, the choice being by the votes of the nuns belonging to the community. Unlike the abbot, the abbess receives only the ring, the crosier, and she does not receive a mitre as part of the ceremony. An abbess serves for life, except in Italy and some adjacent islands, Abbesses are, like abbots, major superiors according to canon law, the equivalents of abbots or bishops. They have full authority in its administration and they may not administer the sacraments, whose celebration is reserved to bishops, priests, deacons, namely, those in Holy Orders. They may not serve as a witness to a marriage except by special rescript and they may not administer Penance, Anointing of the Sick, or function as an ordained celebrant or concelebrant of the Mass. They may preside the Liturgy of the Hours which they are obliged to say with their community, speak about Scripture to their community, on the other hand, they may not ordinarily give a homily or read the Gospel during a Mass. Also granted exceptional rights was the Abbess of the Cistercian order in Conversano Italy and she was granted the ability to appoint her own vicar-general, select and approve the confessors, along with the practice of receiving the public homage of her clergy. This practice continued until some of the duties were modified due to an appeal by the clergy to Rome, finally in 1750, the public homage was abolished. This custom accompanied Celtic monastic missions to France, Spain, in 1115, Robert, the founder of Fontevraud Abbey near Chinon and Saumur, France, committed the government of the whole order, men as well as women, to a female superior. In Lutheran churches, the title of abbess has in some cases survived to designate the heads of abbeys which since the Protestant Reformation have continued as monasteries or convents and these positions continued merely changing from Catholic to Lutheran. The first to make this change was the Abbey of Quedlinburg and these are collegiate foundations, which provide a home and an income for unmarried ladies, generally of noble birth, called canonesses or more usually Stiftsdamen or Kapitularinnen. The office of abbess is of social dignity, and in the past, was sometimes filled by princesses of the reigning houses. The last such ruling abbess was Sofia Albertina, Princess of Sweden, in the Hradčany of Prague is a Catholic institute whose mistress is titled an Abbess. It was founded in 1755 by the Empress Maria Theresa, the Abbess is required to be an Austrian Archduchess

53.
Margaret of Burgundy (1393-1441)
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Margaret of Burgundy, also known as Margaret of Nevers, was Dauphine of France and Duchess of Guyenne as the daughter-in-law of King Charles VI of France. A pawn in the struggles between her family and in-laws during the Hundred Years War, Margaret was twice envisaged to become Queen of France. Born in late 1393, Margaret was the eldest child and the first of six daughters of John the Fearless and her father was, at the time, Count of Nevers and heir apparent to the Duchy of Burgundy ruled by his father, Philip the Bold. On 9 July 1394, Duke Philip and his mentally unstable nephew, King Charles VI of France, agreed that the formers first grandchild would marry the son and heir apparent. Following their formal betrothal in January 1396, Margaret was known as madame la dauphine, the death of her eight-year-old fiancé in early 1401 forced Margarets grandfather and Charles mother, Isabeau of Bavaria, to arrange a new union in the wake of Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War. In Paris in May 1403, it was agreed that Margaret would marry the new Dauphin of France, Margaret married Dauphin Louis, while her only brother, Philip the Good, married Louis sister Michelle. Philip the Bold did not live enough to see his grandchildrens marriages consummated. He died in 1404, and was succeeded by Margarets father and it was not until June 1409 that the marriages were consummated, according to Jean Juvénal des Ursins, after which Margaret moved to the decadent court of her mother-in-law. Margaret soon became a pawn in the struggle between two belligerent fractions, the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, who aspired to control her husband and their childless marriage ended with Louis death in 1415. The young widow was rescued with difficulty from Armagnac-controlled Paris. She then returned to Burgundy, living there for a few years with her unmarried sisters alongside their mother, upon their fathers assassination in 1419, Philip the Good became Duke of Burgundy. Margarets father-in-law died in 1422, and the English occupied a part of France in the name of his infant grandson, King Henry VI of England, at the same time, Margarets brother-in-law Charles VII claimed the crown for himself. In early 1423, Philip the Good entered into an alliance with Duke John V of Brittany and Henrys regent, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford. As the former Dauphine of France who still used the title of Duchess of Guyenne, Philip had to send his trusted servant, Renier Pot, as a special ambassador to Margaret. Pot explained to her the necessity of an alliance with Brittany, per Philips instructions, Pot told Margaret that, still being a fairly young widow, she ought to marry and have children soon, more so because Philip himself was now a childless widower. She eventually yielded, and the marriage was celebrated on 10 October 1423, Arthur soon became a very influential person at the royal court in Paris, and staunchly worked in the interests of Burgundy, especially during his marriage to Margaret. Burgundy and Brittany eventually changed sides, joining Charles VII in his fight against the English, Margaret proved to be a devoted wife, protecting her husband when he fell out with Charles VII and managing his estates while he was at the battlefield. She returned with him to Paris when the French regained control of the city in 1436, little is known about her life after 1436

Margaret of Burgundy (1393-1441)
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Christine de Pizan presents her book to Margaret
Margaret of Burgundy (1393-1441)
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19th-century depiction of the Duchess of Guyenne

54.
Christine de Pizan
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Christine de Pizan was an Italian French late medieval author. She served as a writer for several dukes and the French royal court during the reign of Charles VI. She wrote both poetry and prose works such as biographies and books containing practical advice for women and she completed forty-one works during her 30-year career from 1399 to 1429. She married in 1380 at the age of 15, and was widowed 10 years later, much of the impetus for her writing came from her need to earn a living to support her mother, a niece and her two surviving children. She spent most of her childhood and all of her life in Paris and then the abbey at Poissy. Her early courtly poetry is marked by her knowledge of aristocratic custom and fashion of the day, particularly involving women, supported and encouraged by important royal French and English patrons, she influenced 15th-century English poetry. In recent decades, Christine de Pizans work has returned to prominence by the efforts of scholars such as Charity Cannon Willard, Earl Jeffrey Richards. Certain scholars have argued that she should be seen as an early feminist who efficiently used language to convey that women could play an important role within society. This characterization has been challenged by critics, who say that it is either an anachronistic use of the word or a misinterpretation of her writing. Christine de Pizan was born in 1364 in Venice, Italy and she was the daughter of Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano, a physician, court astrologer, and Councillor of the Republic of Venice. Following her birth, Thomas de Pizan accepted an appointment to the court of Charles V of France, as the astrologer, alchemist. In this atmosphere, Christine was able to pursue her intellectual interests, but she did not assert her intellectual abilities, or establish her authority as a writer until she was widowed at the age of 25. She married Etienne du Castel, a secretary to the court. She had three children, a daughter, a son Jean, and another child who died in childhood, Christines family life was threatened in 1387 when her husband, while in Beauvais on a mission with the king, suddenly died in an epidemic. Following Castels death, she was left to support her mother, a niece, when she tried to collect money from her husbands estate, she faced complicated lawsuits regarding the recovery of salary due her husband. Note that in letters he signed as secretary of the king in 1381 and 1382 the signature of Etienne was Ste de Castel. The abbreviation of his first name could be both as a phonetic abbreviation of Estienne and as the first letters of his name in Latin. In order to support herself and her family, Christine turned to writing, by 1393, she was writing love ballads, which caught the attention of wealthy patrons within the court

Christine de Pizan
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Christine de Pizan lecturing men
Christine de Pizan
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Christine de Pizan presents her book to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France.
Christine de Pizan
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Picture from The Book of the City of Ladies
Christine de Pizan
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From Pygmalion at the Temple of Venus, c. 1475

55.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Several critics have described Rilkes work as inherently mystical. These deeply existential themes tend to him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist writers. While Rilke is most known for his contributions to German literature, over 400 poems were written in French. In the later 20th century, his work found new audiences through its use by New Age theologians and self-help authors, in the United States, Rilke remains among the more popular, best-selling poets. He was born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke in Prague and his childhood and youth in Prague were not especially happy. His father, Josef Rilke, became an official after an unsuccessful military career. His mother, Sophie Entz, came from a well-to-do Prague family, the Entz-Kinzelbergers, who lived in a house on the Herrengasse 8, where René also spent many of his early years. The relationship between Phia and her son was colored by her mourning for an earlier child, a daughter who had died only one week old. During Rilkes early years Phia acted as if she sought to recover the lost girl through the boy by dressing him in girls clothing and his parents marriage failed in 1884. His parents pressured the poetically and artistically talented youth into entering a military academy, which he attended from 1886 until 1891, from 1892 to 1895 he was tutored for the university entrance exam, which he passed in 1895. Until 1896 he studied literature, art history, and philosophy in Prague, in 1897 in Munich, Rainer Maria Rilke met and fell in love with the widely travelled, intellectual woman of letters Lou Andreas-Salomé. Rilke changed his first name from René to Rainer at Lous urging because she thought that name to be masculine, forceful. His relationship with married woman, with whom he undertook two extensive trips to Russia, lasted until 1900. But even after their separation, Lou continued to be Rilkes most important confidante until the end of his life, having trained from 1912 to 1913 as a psychoanalyst with Sigmund Freud, she shared her knowledge of psychoanalysis with Rilke. In 1898, Rilke undertook a journey lasting several weeks to Italy, in 1899, he travelled with Lou and her husband, Friedrich Andreas, to Moscow where he met the novelist Leo Tolstoy. Author Anna A. Tavis cites the cultures of Bohemia and Russia as the key influences on Rilkes poetry, in 1900, Rilke stayed at the artists colony at Worpswede. It was here that he got to know the sculptor Clara Westhoff and their daughter Ruth was born in December 1901. In the summer of 1902, Rilke left home and travelled to Paris to write a monograph on the sculptor Auguste Rodin, before long his wife left their daughter with her parents and joined Rilke there

Rainer Maria Rilke
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Rilke in 1900, aged 24
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), an early expressionist painter, became acquainted with Rilke in Worpswede and Paris, and painted his portrait in 1906.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Duino Castle near Trieste, Italy, was where Rilke began writing the Duino Elegies in 1912—recounting that he heard the famous first line as a voice in the wind while walking along the cliffs and that he wrote it quickly in his notebook.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Château de Muzot in Veyras, Switzerland, was where Rilke completed writing the Duino Elegies in "a savage creative storm" in February 1922.

56.
William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589

57.
Capetian dynasty
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The Capetian dynasty /kəˈpiːʃən/, also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, the senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. They were succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and Bourbon, the dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French state. Initially obeyed only in their own demesne, the Île-de-France, the Capetian kings slowly but steadily increased their power, for a detailed narration on the growth of French royal power, see Crown lands of France. Members of the dynasty were traditionally Catholic, the early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of five Crusader Kings – Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Saint Louis, the Capetian alliance with the papacy suffered a severe blow after the disaster of the Aragonese Crusade. Philip IIIs son and successor, Philip IV, humiliated a pope, the later Valois, starting with Francis I, ignored religious differences and allied with the Ottoman Sultan to counter the growing power of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry IV was a Protestant at the time of his accession, the Capetians generally enjoyed a harmonious family relationship. By tradition, younger sons and brothers of the King of France are given appanages for them to maintain their rank, when Capetian cadets did aspire for kingship, their ambitions were directed not at the French throne, but at foreign thrones. Through this, the Capetians spread widely over Europe, in modern times, both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are members of this family, both through the Bourbon branch of the dynasty. Along with the House of Habsburg, it was one of the two most powerful continental European royal families, dominating European politics for five centuries. The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, the meaning of Capet is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with cape, other suggestions suggest it to be connected to the Latin word caput, historians in the 19th century came to apply the name Capetian to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice, the name Capet has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of the House of Capet. One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethroned King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were referred to as Louis, the dynastic surname now used to describe Hugh Capets family prior to his election as King of France is Robertians or Robertines. The name is derived from the familys first certain ancestor, Robert the Strong, Robert was probably son of Robert III of Worms and grandson of Robert of Hesbaye. The Robertians probably originated in the county Hesbaye, around Tongeren in modern-day Belgium, the sons of Robert the Strong were Odo and Robert, who both ruled as king of Western Francia. The family became Counts of Paris under Odo and Dukes of the Franks under Robert, the Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V

58.
List of Counts of Albon and Dauphins of Viennois
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The Counts of Albon were members of the medieval nobility in what is now south-eastern France. Guigues IV, Count of Albon was nicknamed le Dauphin or the Dolphin and his nickname morphed into a title among his successors. By 1293, the lands ruled by the Counts Albon, the old comitatus Albionis, were known as the Dauphiné of Viennois, the titles and lands had been part of the Holy Roman Empire since 1032. They passed to Philip VI of France in 1349 on condition that the heir to the French crown always be named Dauphin, by condition of the Emperor, the Dauphiny could never be united to France. When the King of France had no son, he would rule the Dauphiny separately. Their descendants adopted the title of Dauphin of Auvergne, and it was used by some as the family name

List of Counts of Albon and Dauphins of Viennois
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Humbert I of Viennois
List of Counts of Albon and Dauphins of Viennois
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Coat of Arms of the Dauphins of Viennois.

59.
French monarchs family tree (simple)
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This is a simplified family tree of all Frankish and French monarchs, from Chlodio to Napoleon III. Unionists recognized the Orléanist claimant after 1883, Orléanist claimants to the throne of France—descendants of Louis-Phillippe, a cadet Bourbon, rejecting all heads of state since 1848. Bonapartist claimants to the throne of France—descendants of Napoleon I and his brothers, rejecting all heads of state 1815–48, jacobite claimants to the throne of France—descendants of King Edward III of England and thus his claim to the French throne, also claiming Scotland, and Ireland. French monarchs family tree Kingdom of France List of French consorts List of French monarchs List of heirs to the French throne Edward James, The Origins of France, Clovis to the Capetians 500-1000. This work was commissioned at a time that France was embroiled in the Hundred Years War with England and it must therefore be read with a careful eye toward biases meant to justify the Capetian claims of continuity and inheritance. The Cambridge Illustrated History of France, paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding, Late Merovingian France, History and Hagiography, 640–720. Patrick Geary, Before France and Germany, The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World, patrick Geary, The Myth of Nations, The Medieval Origins of Europe

60.
Childebert I
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Childebert I was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their fathers death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda, born at Reims and he reigned as King of Paris from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558. In the partition of the realm, he received as his share the town of Paris, the country to the north as far as the river Somme, to the west as far as the English Channel, and the Armorican peninsula. His brothers ruled in different lands, Theuderic I in Metz, Chlodomer in Orléans, in 523, Childebert participated with his brothers in a war against Godomar of Burgundy. Chlodomer died in the Battle of Vézeronce, thereafter, concerned that the three sons of Chlodomer would inherit the kingdom of Orléans, Clothar conspired with Childebert to oust them. They sent a representative to their mother Clotilde, who as the mother had authority as the head of the family line. She famously replied, It is better for me to see them dead rather than shorn, after the murder of Chlodomers two elder children—the third, Clodoald, escaping to a monastic life—Childebert annexed the cities of Chartres and Orléans. He took part in various expeditions against the kingdom of Burgundy. When Witiges, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence to the Franks in 535, the annexation of that province was completed, with Clotaires help, in the winter of 536–537. In 531, he received pleas from his sister Chrotilda, wife of King Amalaric of the Visigoths, the Arian king of Hispania, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king, Amalaric retreated to Barcelona, where he was assassinated. Chrotilda died on her journey to Paris of unknown causes. Childebert made other expeditions against the Visigoths, in 542, he took possession of Pamplona with the help of his brother Clotaire and besieged Zaragoza, but was forced to retreat. He died on 13 December 558, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, st-Germain-des-Prés became the royal necropolis for the Neustrian kings until 675. He left no sons, only two daughters, Chrodoberge and Chrodesinde, by his wife Ultragotha and he expanded his domains in more foreign wars than any of his brothers, fighting in Burgundy, Spain, Provence, and elsewhere in Gaul. Gregory of Tours, a contemporary Neustrian, cites Childebert as saying, Velim unquam Arvernam Lemanem quae tantae jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis cernere. Childbert was also one of the religious of the sons of Clovis, cooperating with his brothers, rescuing his sister

61.
Chlothar I
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Chlothar I, also called Clotaire I and the Old, King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty. Although his father, Childeric I, had united Francia for the first time, in 511 at the age of circa 14, Clothar I inherited two large territories on the Western coast of Francia, separated by the lands of his brother Charibert Is Kingdom of Paris. Chlothar spent most of his life in a campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives. His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with his attacks on neighbouring lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died, the spoils were shared between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to reunite Francia by surviving his brothers, but upon his own death, the Kingdom of the Franks was once again divided between his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his family, Frankish customs of the day allowed for the practice polygamy, especially among royalty. So it was not uncommon for a king to have multiple wives and this was a major deviation from the monogamy of late Roman customs, influenced by the Church. Frankish rulers followed this practice mainly to increase their influence across larger areas of land in the wake of the Roman empires collapse, the aim was to maintain peace and ensure the preservation of the kingdom by appeasing local leaders. In the Germanic tradition succession fell, not to sons, but to younger brothers, uncles, but under Salic law, Clovis I instituted the custom of sons being the primary heirs in all respects. However, it was not a system of primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the vast majority of an inheritance, therefore, the greater Frankish Kingdom was often splintered into smaller sub-kingdoms. Chlothar was the son of Clovis I and the fourth son of Queen Clotilde. Chlothar was born around 497 in Soissons, but he was very ambitious and sought to extend his domain. Upon the death of Clovis I in the year 511, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Chlothar and his brothers, Theuderic, Childebert, and Chlodomer, because of the rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their sons kingdom. Clovis I, who had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Chlothar shared the second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, in 516 Gundobad, king of Burgundy, died, and the throne passed to his son Sigismund, who converted to Catholicism. Sigismund adopted an extreme anti-Arian policy, going so far as to execute his Arian son Sigeric, in 523, at the instigation of their mother, Clotilde, Chlothar, Childebert, and Chlodomer joined forces in an expedition against the Burgundians. The Burgundian army was defeated, and Sigismund was captured and executed, sigismunds brother Godomar replaced him on the throne, with the support of the aristocracy, and the Franks were forced to leave

Chlothar I
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The division of Gaul upon Chlothar's death (561)
Chlothar I
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A denarius from the reign of Chlothar I
Chlothar I
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Bust of Chlothar
Chlothar I
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Imagined Bust of Chlothar on coin minted by Louis XVIII

62.
Guntram
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St. Guntram, also called Gontram, Gontran, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the King of Burgundy from AD561 to AD592. He was the third eldest and second eldest surviving son of Chlothar I, on his fathers death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans. The name Guntram denotes war raven, later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent his son Gundobad to Orléans. But after she had a son Marcatrude was jealous, and proceeded to bring about Gundobads death and she sent poison, they say, and poisoned his drink. And upon his death, by Gods judgment she lost the son she had and incurred the hate of the king, was dismissed by him, after her he took Austerchild, also named Bobilla. He had by her two sons, of whom the older was called Clothar and the younger Chlodomer, Guntram had a period of intemperance. He was eventually overcome with remorse for the sins of his past life, in atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God. Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he attempted to govern by Christian principles, according to St. Gregory of Tours, he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was generous with his wealth, especially in times of plague and he strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations. Guntram munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries, St. Gregory related that the king performed many miracles both before and after his death, some of which St. Gregory claimed to have witnessed himself. In 567, his elder brother Charibert I died and his lands of the Kingdom of Paris were divided between the brothers, Guntram, Sigebert I, and Chilperic I. They shared his realm, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common, chariberts widow, Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, the eldest remaining brother, though a council convened at Paris as late as 557 had forbidden such tradition as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a monastery in Arles, in 573, Guntram was caught in a civil war with his brother Sigebert I of Austrasia, and in 575 summoned the aid of their brother Chilperic I of Soissons. He reversed his allegiance later, due to the character of Chilperic, if we may give him the benefit of the doubt in light of St. Gregorys commendation and he thereafter remained an ally of Sigebert, his wife, and his sons until his death. Mummolus defeated Chilperics general Desiderius and the Neustrians forces retreated from Austrasia. In 577, Chlothar and Clodomir, his two surviving children, died of dysentery and he adopted as his son and heir Childebert II, his nephew, Sigeberts son, however, Childebert did not always prove faithful to his uncle. In 581, Chilperic took many of Guntrams cities and in 583, he allied with Childebert and this time Guntram made peace with Chilperic and Childebert retreated. Supposed to take place on 4 July, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, in Orléans, it did not, Guntram marched against him, calling him nothing more than a millers son named Ballomer

63.
Chilperic I
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Chilperic I was the king of Neustria from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I, immediately after the death of his father in 561, he endeavoured to take possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, Thérouanne, Tournai, and Boulogne fell to Chilperics share. His eldest brother Charibert received Paris, the second eldest brother Guntram received Burgundy with its capital at Orléans, on the death of Charibert in 567, his estates were augmented when the brothers divided Chariberts kingdom among themselves and agreed to share Paris. Not long after his accession, however, he was at war with Sigebert, Sigebert defeated him and marched to Soissons, where he defeated and imprisoned Chilperics eldest son, Theudebert. The war flared in 567, at the death of Charibert, Chilperic immediately invaded Sigeberts new lands, but Sigebert defeated him. Chilperic later allied with Guntram against Sigebert, but Guntram changed sides, when Sigebert married Brunhilda, daughter of the Visigothic sovereign in Spain, Chilperic also wished to make a brilliant marriage. He had already repudiated his first wife, Audovera, and had taken as his concubine a serving-woman called Fredegund and he accordingly dismissed Fredegund, and married Brunhildas sister, Galswintha. But he soon tired of his new partner, and one morning Galswintha was found strangled in her bed, a few days afterwards Chilperic married Fredegund. This murder was the cause of more long and bloody wars, interspersed with truces, in 575, Sigebert was assassinated by Fredegund at the very moment when he had Chilperic at his mercy. Chilperic then made war with the protector of Sigeberts wife and son, Chilperic retrieved his position, took from Austrasia Tours and Poitiers and some places in Aquitaine, and fostered discord in the kingdom of the east during the minority of Childebert II. In 578, Chilperic sent an army to fight the Breton ruler Waroch II of the Bro-Wened along the Vilaine, the Frankish army consisted of units from the Poitou, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, and Bayeux. The Baiocassenses were Saxons and they in particular were routed by the Bretons, the armies fought for three days before Waroch submitted, did homage for Vannes, sent his son as a hostage, and agreed to pay an annual tribute. He subsequently broke his oath but Chilperics dominion over the Bretons was relatively secure, most of what is known of Chilperic comes from The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours. Gregory also objected to Chilperics attempts to teach a new doctrine of the Trinity, Chilperics reign in Neustria saw the introduction of the Byzantine punishment of eye-gouging. In September 584, while returning from an expedition to his royal villa of Chelles. Chilperic Is first marriage was to Audovera, merovech, married the widow Brunhilda and became his fathers enemy Clovis. Basina, nun, led a revolt in the abbey of Poitiers Childesinda His short second marriage to Galswintha produced no children and his concubinage and subsequent marriage to Fredegund in about 568 produced six more legitimate offspring, Rigunth, betrothed to Reccared but never married

Chilperic I
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Portrait of Chilperic I on a bronze medal 1720.
Chilperic I
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Chilperic I and Fredegund
Chilperic I
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Childeric I (457–481)
Chilperic I

64.
Sigebert I
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Sigebert I was the Germanic king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the surviving son out of four of Clotaire I. His reign found him mostly occupied with a civil war against his half-brother. Incursions by the Avars, a nomadic tribe related to the Huns. He repelled their attacks twice, in 562 and c, about 567, he married Brunhilda, daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild. She was a maiden beautiful in her person, lovely to look at, virtuous and well-behaved, with good sense and her father did not refuse, but sent her to the king I have named with great treasures. And the king collected his men, made ready a feast. And she still remains catholic in Christs name, upon seeing this, his brother Chilperic sent to Athanagild for his other daughters hand. This daughter, Galswintha, was given him and he abandoned his other wives, however, he soon tired of her and had her murdered in order to marry his mistress Fredegund. Probably spurred by his wife Brunhildas anger at her sisters murder, the two brothers had already been at war, but their hostility now elevated into a long and bitter war that was continued by the descendants of both. In 573, Sigebert took possession of Poitiers and Touraine, but at Sigeberts moment of triumph, when he had just been declared king by Chilperics subjects at Vitry-en-Artois, he was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund. He was succeeded by his son Childebert under the regency of Brunhilda, Brunhilda and Childebert quickly put themselves under the protection of Guntram, who eventually adopted Childebert as his own son and heir. With Brunhilda he had two daughters, Ingund and Chlodosind, history of the Franks, Books I-X at Medieval Sourcebook

65.
Chlothar II
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Chlothar II, called the Great or the Young, was King of Neustria and King of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an infant under the regency of his mother, Clothar assumed full power over Neustria upon her death in 597, though rich this was one of the smallest portions of Francia. Like his father, he built up his territories by moving in after the deaths of other kings and his reign was long by contemporary standards, but saw the continuing erosion of royal power to the nobility and the church against a backdrop of feuding among the Merovingians. The Edict of Paris in 614, concerned with aspects of appointments to offices. Chlothar was forced to rule over Austrasia to his young son Dagobert I in 623. Unusually for a Merovingian monarch, he practised monogamy, though meant that he had three queens. The domain of Clothar II was located in the territorial and political framework derived from the Frankish kingdom present at 561 at the death of Clothar, son of Clovis and grandfather of Clothar II. On the death of Clovis in 511, four kingdoms were established with capitals at Reims, Soissons, Paris, in the year 550, Clothar I, the last survivor of four brothers reunited the Frankish kingdom, and added Burgundian territory by conquest. Very quickly, Sigebert moved his capital from Reims to Metz, on the death of Charibert in 567, the land was again split between the three survivors, of greatest importance Sigebert received Paris and Chilperic received Rouen. The names Austrasia and Neustria seem to have appeared as the names of these kingdoms for the first time at this point, in 560, Sigebert and Chilperic married two sisters, daughters of the Visigoth king of Spain Athanagild, princesses Brunhilda, and Galswintha respectively. However Chilperic was still very attached to his lover and consort, Fredegund. In 570 she was murdered and suspicion fell on Chilperic, although eventually these suspicions faded, within days, and after a brief period of grieving, Chilperic officially married Fredegund and elevated her to a queen of a Frankish kingdom. With her fathers death not soon after, Brunhilda became solely responsible for reprisals against Chilperic and he agreed at first to pay a sum of money to end the feud, but not soon after decided to embark on a series of military operations against Sigebert. This was the beginning of what is called the feud which did not end until Brunhilda died in 613. Moreover, Fredegund strove to ensure her position, since she was from lower origins, by eliminating the sons that Chilperic had with his previous wife Audovera, Merovech and her own children, however, died at a very young age and appeared to be by foul play. When Fredegund had a son in the spring of 584, he would be the successor of Chilperic I. The main sources from the time are the chronicles of Gregory of Tours and it is possible, however, that the authors contain a degree of bias in their works, for instance Gregory was a key figure in some of the conflicts of the time. The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours in the sixth century only recounts up to 572

Chlothar II
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Coin of Clothar II
Chlothar II
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The kingdom of Chlothar at the start of his reign (yellow). By 613 he had inherited or conquered all of the coloured portions of the map.
Chlothar II
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A treaty of King Chlothar II and the Lombards.
Chlothar II
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Fredegund is cursed by Pretextatus

66.
Childeric II
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Childeric II was the king of Austrasia from 662 and of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole King of the Franks for the final two years of his life. Childeric was the second eldest son of King Clovis II and grandson of King Dagobert I and his mother was Saint Balthild and his elder brother was Chlothar III, who was briefly sole king from 661, but gave Austrasia to Childeric the next year. He was still a child when he was raised on the shields of his warriors. He soon invaded his brothers kingdom and displaced him, becoming sole king, in March 675, Childeric had granted honores in Alsace to Adalrich with the title of dux. This grant was most probably the result of Adalrichs continued support for Childeric in Burgundy, the final straw for the magnates of Neustria, however, was Childerics illegal corporal punishment of the nobleman named Bodilo. He was buried in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, near Paris, where the tombs of him, Bilichild, and his young son Dagobert were discovered in 1645, besides the aforementioned Dagobert, she bore him the future king Chilperic II. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Media related to Childeric II at Wikimedia Commons

67.
Childebert III
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He had a son named Dagobert, who succeeded him, as Dagobert III but his wife was not Edonne, the invention of later fantasists. It is possible, though not likely, that Chlothar IV was also his son and he spent almost his entire life in a royal villa on the Oise. It was during his reign of sixteen years, in 708, upon his death on 23 April 711, southern Gaul began to grow independent, Burgundy under Bishop Savaric of Auxerre, Aquitaine under Duke Odo the Great, and Provence under Antenor. He died at St Etienne, Loire, France and he was buried in the church of St Stephen at Choisy-au-Bac, near Compiègne. From Merovingians to Carolingians, Dynastic Change in Frankia

68.
Chlothar IV
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Chlothar IV, king of Austrasia, was installed by the mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, as an ally during the civil war then raging. In 717, Charles, returning to Neustria with an army to assault King Chilperic II and his mayor, Ragenfrid, confirmed his supremacy with a victory at Vincy, near Cambrai. He chased the king and mayor to Paris before turning back to remove his other opponent, Plectrude. On succeeding there, he proclaimed Chlothar king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic, in 718, Chilperic was again defeated, at Soissons, by Charles. The king fled with his ally Odo the Great, duke of Aquitaine, soon Odo gave up on Chilperic and sued for peace. Charles now recognized Chilperic as king of all the Franks, and in exchange Chilperic surrendered his power to Charles. Chlothar is thought to have died in 718, when Chilperic was raised on the shield in 719, Charles may have been willing to recognize him as king as a result of Chlothars death. It is possible, however, that Chlothar survived until 719,720 or even 721 and it is also possible that Chlothar was a son of Childebert III or not a Merovingian at all, but merely a puppet or place-man who served Charles Martels political purposes at the time

69.
Childeric III
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Childeric III was King of Francia from 743 until he was deposed by Pope Zachary in March 751 at the instigation of Pepin the Short. Although his parentage is uncertain, he is considered the last Frankish king from the Merovingian dynasty, once Childeric was deposed, Pepin the Short, who was the father of emperor Charlemagne, was crowned the first king of the Franks from the Carolingian dynasty. In 718, Charles Martel combined the roles of mayor of the palace of Neustria and mayor of the palace of Austrasia, after the death of king Theuderic IV in 737, the throne remained vacant, and Charles Martel became de facto king. After Charles Martels death in 741, Carloman and Pepin the Short, his sons by his first wife Rotrude, however, they soon faced revolts from their younger half-brother Grifo and their brother-in-law Odilo, Duke of Bavaria. These revolts may have played a part in their decision to fill the throne with a Merovingian king after a vacancy to add legitimacy to their reigns. Childerics parentage and his relation to the Merovingian family are uncertain and he may have been either the son of Chilperic II or Theuderic IV. Childeric took no part in business, which was directed, as previously. Once a year, he would be brought in an ox cart led by a peasant and preside at court, after Carloman retired to a monastery in 747, Pepin resolved to take the royal crown for himself. Pepin sent letters to Pope Zachary, asking whether the title of king belonged to the one who had exercised the power or the one with the royal lineage, the pope responded that the real power should have the royal title as well. In early March 751 Childeric was dethroned by Pope Zachary and tonsured and his long hair was the symbol of his dynasty and thus the royal rights or magical powers, by cutting it, they divested him of all royal prerogatives. Once dethroned, he and his son Theuderic were placed in the monastery of Saint-Bertin or he in Saint-Omer, there are conflicts in information of when he exactly died with some references citing as early as 753 and other references saying it was as late as 758. Under the Carolingians, he received bad press, being called a rex falsus, false king, despite the fact that it was Pepin through Popes Zachary, junghans, W. Die Geschichte der fränkischen Konige Childerich und Clodovech. Chiflet, J. J. Anastasis Childerici I Francorum regis, le Tombeau de Childeric I, roi des Francs. Lavisse, E. Histoire de France, Vol. II, the Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations

70.
Carloman I
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Carloman I, also Karlmann was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. Little is known of him, except such as touches upon his famous father and brother. Carloman and Charlemagne each inherited a half of the Kingdom of the Franks upon Pepins death, Carlomans reign proved short and troublesome. The brothers shared possession of Aquitaine, which broke into rebellion upon the death of Pepin the Short, the two quarreled at Moncontour, near Poitiers, and Carloman withdrew. This, it had suggested, was an attempt to undermine Charlemagnes power. Charlemagne crushed the rebels, whilst Carlomans behaviour had damaged his own standing amongst the Franks, relations between the two then degenerated further, requiring the mediation of their mother, Bertrada, who appears to have favoured Charlemagne, with whom she would live out her widowhood. In 770, his mother Bertrada began a series of diplomatic offensive to encircle Carloman and these maneuvers had been favorable to the Franks in general, but posed serious threats to Carlomans position. Carlomans position was rescued, however, by Charlemagnes sudden repudiation of his Lombard wife, Desiderius, outraged and humiliated, appears to have made an alliance with Carloman in opposition to Charlemagne and the Papacy, which took the opportunity to declare itself against the Lombards. Carloman died on 4 December 771, at the Villa of Samoussy, at the time of his death, he and his brother Charlemagne were close to outright war, which Charlemagnes biographer Einhard attributes to the miscounsel of Carlomans advisors. Carloman was buried in Reims, but he was reburied in the Basilique Saint-Denis in the 13th century, Carloman had married a beautiful Frankish woman, Gerberga, who according to Pope Stephen III was chosen for him, together with Charlemagnes concubine, Himiltrude, by Pepin the Short. With Gerberga he had two sons, the older of whom was named Pepin after his grandfather, marking him according to Carolingian tradition as the heir of Carloman, and of Pepin the Short. Despite their difficult relationship, and the events following Carlomans death and this had, perhaps, been a public gesture to honour the memory of the boys uncle, and to quell any rumours about Charlemagnes treatment of his nephews. If so, it was away in 781, when Charlemagne had his son renamed as Pepin. He had several children with Gerberga, Pepin, Prince of the Franks unknown son Kunigunde or Auberge Ida, m. Eckbert II, count of Mersebourg Charles, Illegitimate Carloman, Illegitimate

71.
Louis the Stammerer
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Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later the King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans, Louis the Stammerer was physically weak and outlived his father by only two years. He succeeded his younger brother Charles the Child as the ruler of Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, in the French monarchial system, he is considered Louis II. The pope may have offered him the imperial crown. Louis had relatively little impact on politics and he was described a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion. In 878, he gave the counties of Barcelona, Girona and his final act was to march against the invading Vikings, but he fell ill and died on 9 April or 10 April 879, not long after beginning this final campaign. On his death, his realms were divided between his two sons, Carloman II and Louis III of France, during the peace negotiations between his father and Erispoe, duke of Brittany, Louis was betrothed to an unnamed daughter of Erispoe in 856. It is not known if this was the daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 after Erispoes murder and his first wife Ansgarde of Burgundy had two sons, Louis and Carloman, both of whom became kings of West Francia, and two daughters, Hildegarde and Gisela. His second wife Adelaide of Paris had one daughter, Ermentrude and a son, Charles the Simple. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh

72.
Odo of France
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Odo was the elected King of West Francia from 888 to 898 as the first king from the Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship Odo had the titles of Duke of France, Odo was the eldest son of Robert the Strong, Duke of the Franks, Marquis of Neustria and Count of Anjou. After his fathers death in 866, Odo inherited his Marquis of Neustria title, Odo lost this title in 868 when king Charles the Bald appointed Hugh the Abbot to the title. Odo regained it following the death of Hugh in 886, after 882 he held the post of Count of Paris. Odo was also the lay abbot of St. Martin of Tours, Odo married Théodrate of Troyes and had two known sons, Arnulf and Guy, neither of whom lived past the age of fifteen. For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of Vikings at the Siege of Paris and he was crowned at Compiègne in February 888 by Walter, Archbishop of Sens. In 889 and 890 Odo granted special privileges to the County of Manresa in Osona, because of its position on the front line against the Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as manresanas or manresanes. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, to gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to the East Francias King Arnulf. Odo died in La Fère on 1 January 898 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed

73.
Robert I of France
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Robert I of France was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and he succeeded the overthrown Carolingian king Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Roberts brother, king Odo. Robert was born in 866 as the son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and the brother of Odo. In time West Francia evolved into Kingdom of France, and under Odo, Robert and Odo came from the Robertian dynasty out of which the Capetian dynasty grew. In 885 Robert participated in the defence of Paris during the Viking siege of Paris and he was appointed by Odo as the ruler of several counties, including the county of Paris, and abbot in commendam of many abbeys. Robert also secured the office of Dux Francorum, a dignity of high importance. He did not claim the crown of West Francia when his brother died in 898, instead recognizing the supremacy of the Carolingian king, Charles then confirmed Robert in his offices and possessions, after which he continued to defend northern Francia from the attacks of Vikings. Robert defeated a band of Vikings in the Loire Valley in 921, after which the defeated invaders converted to Christianity. The peace between the king Charles the Simple and his powerful vassal was not seriously disturbed until about 921 when Charles favoritism towards Hagano aroused rebellion. Roberts rule was contested by the Viking leader Rollo, who had settled in Duchy of Normandy in 911 with the permission of Charles the Simple, during Roberts reign, Rollo remained loyal to Charles, who continued to contest his deposition. Gathering an army, Charles marched against Robert, and on 15 June 923 in a battle near Soissons Robert was killed, however, his army won the battle and Charles was captured. Charles remained a captive until his death in 929, Robert was succeeded as king by his son-in-law Rudolph, Count of Burgundy, also known as Raoul. By her, he had, Hildebrant of France to Herbert II of Vermandois and Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Robert married for the second time c. 890 to Béatrice of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I of Vermandois. Together they had, Adela, married Herbert II, Count of Vermandois Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy Hugh the Great, Hugh was the father of the future Hugh Capet, King of the Franks. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh

74.
Philip I of France
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Philip I, called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low it reached in the reign of his father and he added to the royal demesne the Vexin, Philip was born 23 May 1052 at Champagne-et-Fontaine, the son of Henry I and his wife Anne of Kiev. Unusual at the time for Western Europe, his name was of Greek origin, although he was crowned king at the age of seven, until age fourteen his mother acted as regent, the first queen of France ever to do so. Baldwin V of Flanders also acted as co-regent, following the death of Baldwin VI of Flanders, Robert the Frisian seized Flanders. Baldwins wife, Richilda requested aid from Philip, who defeated Robert at the battle of Cassel in 1071, Philip first married Bertha in 1072. Although the marriage produced the heir, Philip fell in love with Bertrade de Montfort. He repudiated Bertha and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092, in 1094, he was excommunicated by Hugh of Die, for the first time, after a long silence, Pope Urban II repeated the excommunication at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. In France, the king was opposed by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, Philip appointed Alberic first Constable of France in 1060. A great part of his reign, like his fathers, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals, in 1077, he made peace with William the Conqueror, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany. In 1082, Philip I expanded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin, then in 1100, he took control of Bourges. It was at the aforementioned Council of Clermont that the First Crusade was launched, Philip at first did not personally support it because of his conflict with Urban II. Philips brother Hugh of Vermandois, however, was a major participant, Philip died in the castle of Melun and was buried per request at the monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire – and not in St Denis among his forefathers. He was succeeded by his son, Louis VI, whose succession was, however, according to Abbot Suger, Philip‘s children with Bertha were, Constance, married Hugh I of Champagne before 1097 and then, after her divorce, to Bohemund I of Antioch in 1106

Philip I of France
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Philip's tomb effigy in Fleury Abbey
Philip I of France
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2nd type denier during Philip I

75.
Louis VI of France
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Louis VI, called the Fat, was King of the Franks from 1108 until his death. Chronicles called him roi de Saint-Denis, nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably and became one of the first strong kings of France since the division of the Carolingian Empire in 843. Louis was a king but by his forties his weight had become so great that it was increasingly difficult for him to lead in the field. Louis was born on 1 December 1081 in Paris, the son of Philip I and his first wife, and. How valiant he was in youth, and with what energy he repelled the king of the English, William Rufus, when he attacked Louis inherited kingdom. Louis married Lucienne de Rochefort, a French crown princess, in 1104, on 3 August 1115 Louis married Adelaide of Maurienne, daughter of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, and niece of Pope Callixtus II. Adelaide was one of the most politically active of all Frances medieval queens and her name appears on 45 royal charters from the reign of Louis VI. During her tenure as queen, royal charters were dated with both her regnal year and that of the king, suger became Louiss adviser before he became king and he succeeded his father at the age of 26 on 29 July 1108. Louiss half-brother prevented him from reaching Rheims, and so Daimbert, Archbishop of Sens, ralph the Green, Archbishop of Rheims, sent envoys to challenge the validity of the coronation and anointing, but to no avail. When Louis ascended the throne the Kingdom of France was a collection of feudal principalities, beyond the Isle de France the French Kings had little authority over the great Dukes and Counts of the realm but slowly Louis began to change this and assert Capetian rights. This process would take two centuries to complete but began in the reign of Louis VI, the second great challenge facing Louis was to counter the rising power of the Anglo-Normans under their capable new King, Henry I of England. From early in his reign Louis faced the problem of the barons who resisted the Kings authority and engaged in brigandry. In 1108, soon after he ascended the throne, Louis engaged in war with Hugh of Crecy, who was plaguing the countryside and had captured Eudes, Count of Corbeil, Louis besieged that fortress to free Eudes. In early 1109, Louis besieged his half-brother, Philip, the son of Bertrade de Montfort, philips plots included the lords of Montfort-lAmaury. Amaury III of Montfort held many castles which, when linked together, in 1108-1109 a seigneur named Aymon Vaire-Vache seized the lordship of Bourbon from his nephew, Archambaud, a minor. Louis demanded the boy be restored to his rights but Aymon refused the summons, Louis raised his army and besieged Aymon at his castle at Germigny-sur-lAubois, forcing its surrender and enforcing the rights of Archambaud. In 1122, Aimeri, Bishop of Clermont, appealed to Louis after William VI, Count of Auvergne, had driven him from his episcopal town. When William refused Louis summons, Louis raised an army at Bourges, and marched into Auvergne, supported by some of his vassals, such as the Counts of Anjou, Brittany. Louis seized the fortress of Pont-du-Chateau on the Allier, then attacked Clermont, four years later William rebelled again and Louis, though his increasing weight made campaigning difficult, marched again

76.
Louis VII of France
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Louis VII was King of the Franks from 1137 until his death. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI of France, hence his nickname, immediately after the annulment of her marriage, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she conveyed Aquitaine. When Henry became King of England in 1154, as Henry II, Henrys efforts to preserve and expand on this patrimony for the Crown of England would mark the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England. Louis VIIs reign saw the founding of the University of Paris and he died in 1180 and was succeeded by his son Philip II. Louis was born in 1120 in Paris, the son of Louis VI of France. The early education of Prince Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career, in October 1131, his father had him anointed and crowned by Pope Innocent II in Reims Cathedral. He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis, where he built a friendship with the Abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis well during his early years as king. Following the death of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, Louis VI moved quickly to have Prince Louis married to Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, heiress of the late duke, on 25 July 1137. In this way, Louis VI sought to add the large, on 1 August 1137, shortly after the marriage, Louis VI died, and Prince Louis became king of France, reigning as Louis VII. The pairing of the monkish Louis and the high-spirited Eleanor was doomed to failure, she once declared that she had thought to marry a king. Louis and Eleanor had two daughters, Marie and Alix, in the first part of his reign, Louis VII was vigorous and zealous in his prerogatives. His accession was marked by no other than uprisings by the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers. He soon came into violent conflict with Pope Innocent II, however, the pope thus imposed an interdict upon the king. As a result, Champagne decided to side with the pope in the dispute over Bourges, the war lasted two years and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. Louis VII was personally involved in the assault and burning of the town of Vitry-le-François, more than a thousand people who had sought refuge in the church died in the flames. Overcome with guilt and humiliated by ecclesiastical reproach, Louis admitted defeat, removed his armies from Champagne and he accepted Pierre de la Chatre as archbishop of Bourges and shunned Raoul and Petronilla. Desiring to atone for his sins, he declared his intention of mounting a crusade on Christmas Day 1145 at Bourges, bernard of Clairvaux assured its popularity by his preaching at Vezelay on Easter 1146. In the meantime, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, completed his conquest of Normandy in 1144, in exchange for being recognised as Duke of Normandy by Louis, Geoffrey surrendered half of the Vexin — a region vital to Norman security — to Louis

77.
Philip II of France
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Philip II, known as Philip Augustus, was King of France from 1180 to 1223, a member of the House of Capet. Philips predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French monarch to style himself king of France. The son of King Louis VII and his wife, Adèle of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné God-given because he was the first son of Louis VII. Philip was given the nickname Augustus by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the Crown lands of France so remarkably, the military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward. Philip did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals, Philip transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns to free themselves from seigniorial authority and he built a great wall around Paris, re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country. Philip was born in Gonesse on 21 August 1165 and he spent much of the following night attempting to find his way out, but to no avail. Exhausted by cold, hunger and fatigue, he was discovered by a peasant carrying a charcoal burner. His father went on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket to pray for Philips recovery and was told that his son had indeed recovered, however, on his way back to Paris, he suffered a stroke. In declining health, Louis VII had his 14-year-old son crowned and anointed as king at Rheims on 1 November 1179 by the Archbishop Guillaume aux Blanches Mains. He was married on 28 April 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry. From the time of his coronation, all power was transferred to Philip. Eventually, Louis died on 18 September 1180, while the royal demesne had increased under Philip I and Louis VI, it had diminished slightly under Louis VII. In April 1182, partially to enrich the French crown, Philip expelled all Jews from the demesne, Philips eldest son Louis was born on 5 September 1187 and inherited the County of Artois in 1190, when his mother Isabelle died. The main source of funding for Philips army was from the royal demesne, in times of conflict, he could immediately call up 250 knights,250 horse sergeants,100 mounted crossbowmen,133 crossbowmen on foot,2,000 foot sergeants, and 300 mercenaries. Towards the end of his reign, the king could muster some 3,000 knights,9,000 sergeants,6,000 urban militiamen, using his increased revenues, Philip was the first Capetian king to build a French navy actively. By 1215, his fleet could carry a total of 7,000 men, within two years, his fleet included 10 large ships and many smaller ones. In 1181, Philip began a war with Philip, Count of Flanders, over the Vermandois, which King Philip claimed as his wifes dowry, finally the Count of Flanders invaded France, ravaging the whole district between the Somme and the Oise before penetrating as far as Dammartin

Philip II of France
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Seal of Philip II
Philip II of France
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Isabelle, Philip's first wife.
Philip II of France
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The coronation of Philip II Augustus in the presence of Henry II of England
Philip II of France
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Remains of the Wall of Philip II Augustus built around Paris before he went to the Crusades. The segment pictured here is found in the Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul, Paris

78.
Louis VIII of France
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Louis VIII the Lion was King of France from 1223 to 1226. He also claimed the title King of England from 1216 to 1217, Louis VIII was born in Paris, the son of King Philip II of France and Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois. While Louis VIII only briefly reigned as king of France, he was a leader in his years as crown prince. During the First Barons War of 1215-17 against King John of England, after his victory at the Battle of Roche-au-Moine in 1214, he invaded southern England and was proclaimed King of England by rebellious barons in London on the 2 June 1216. He was never crowned, however, and renounced his claim after being excommunicated and repelled, in 1217, Louis started the conquest of Guyenne, leaving only a small region around Bordeaux to Henry III of England. Louiss short reign was marked by an intervention using royal forces into the Albigensian Crusade in southern France that decisively moved the conflict towards a conclusion and he died in 1226 and was succeeded by his son Louis IX. In summer 1195, a marriage between Louis and Eleanor of Brittany, niece of Richard I of England, was suggested for an alliance between Philip II and Richard, but it failed and this led to a sudden deterioration in relations between Richard and Philip. On 23 May 1200, at the age of 12, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, the marriage could only be concluded after prolonged negotiations between King Philip II of France and Blanches uncle John. In 1214, King John of England began his campaign to reclaim the Duchy of Normandy from Philip II. John was optimistic, as he had built up alliances with Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, Count Renaud of Boulogne. Johns plan was to split Philips forces by pushing north-east from Poitou towards Paris, while Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by the Earl of Salisbury, marched south-west from Flanders. Whereas Philip II took personal command of the front against the emperor and his allies. The first part of the campaign went well for the English, with John outmanoeuvring the forces under the command of Prince Louis, John besieged the castle of Roche-au-Moine, a key stronghold, forcing Louis to give battle against Johns larger army. The local Angevin nobles refused to advance with the king, left at something of a disadvantage, shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought Battle of Bouvines in the north against Otto and Johns other allies, bringing an end to Johns hopes of retaking Normandy. In 1215, the English barons rebelled against the unpopular King John in the First Barons War, the barons offered the throne to Prince Louis, who landed unopposed on the Isle of Thanet in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on 21 May 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and Louis was proclaimed king at Old St Pauls Cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions, on 14 June 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom. But just when it seemed that England was his, King Johns death in October 1216 caused many of the barons to desert Louis in favour of Johns nine-year-old son

79.
Louis X of France
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Louis was the eldest son of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Louis uncle—Charles of Valois, leader of the feudalist party—managed to convince the king to execute Enguerrand de Marigny, Louis allowed serfs to buy their freedom, abolished slavery, and readmitted French Jews into the kingdom. In 1305, Louis had married Margaret of Burgundy, with whom he had Joan II of Navarre, Margaret was later convicted of adultery and died in prison, possibly murdered by strangulation. In 1315, Louis married Clementia of Hungary, who gave birth to John I of France a few months after the kings death, johns untimely death led to a disputed succession. Louis was born in Paris, the eldest son of Philip IV of France and he inherited the kingdom of Navarre on the death of his mother, on 4 April 1305, later being crowned 6 June 1313. On 21 September 1305, at age 16, he married Margaret of Burgundy and they had a daughter, Louis was known as the Quarreler as the result of the tensions prevailing throughout his reigns. Both Louis and Margaret became involved in the Tour de Nesle affair towards the end of Philips reign, in 1314, Margaret, Blanche and Joan—the latter two being the wives of Louis brothers Charles and Philip, respectively—were arrested on charges of infidelity. Margaret and Blanche were both tried before the French parliament later that year and found guilty and their alleged lovers were executed, and the women had their hair shorn and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Philip stood by his wife Joan, who was found innocent. Margaret would be imprisoned at Chateau Gaillard, where she died, on the death of his father in 1314, Louis became King of France. Louis and Clementia were crowned at Reims on 24 August 1315, Louis was king of Navarre for eleven years and king of France for less than two years. In 1315, Louis X published a decree proclaiming that France signifies freedom and this prompted subsequent governments to circumscribe slavery in the overseas colonies. Leagues of regional nobles began to form around the country, demanding changes, when these failed, Charles then convinced Louis to bring sorcery charges against him instead, which proved more effective and led to de Marignys execution at Vincennes in April 1315. Other former ministers were similarly prosecuted and this, combined with the halting of Philips reforms, the issuing of numerous charters of rights and a reversion to more traditional rule, largely assuaged the regional leagues. In practical terms, Louis X effectively abolished slavery within the Kingdom of France in 1315, Louis continued to require revenues, however, and alighted on a reform of French serfdom as a way of achieving this. Arguing that all men are free, Louis declared in 1315 that French serfs would therefore be freed. A body of commissioners was established to undertake the reform, establishing the peculium, or value, of each serf. For serfs owned directly by the King, all of the peculium would be received by the Crown – for serfs owned by subjects of the King, Louis was also responsible for a key shift in policy towards the Jews

Louis X of France
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A contemporary picture from the Généalogie des rois de France'
Louis X of France
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Louis being crowned with his second wife, Clementia of Hungary.
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Louis campaigning in Flanders, where he sought a military solution to the ongoing problem of the "immensely wealthy", quasi-autonomous province of France.

80.
John I of France
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John I, called the Posthumous, was King of France and Navarre, as the posthumous son and successor of Louis X, for the five days he lived in 1316. Although considered a king today, his status was not recognized until chroniclers and historians in later centuries began numbering John II, if his reign is recognized, it is the shortest of any French king. He is also the person to be considered King of France since birth and, thus, the youngest person to be King of France. John reigned for five days under the regency of his uncle Philip the Tall, the infant King was buried in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by Philip, whose contested legitimacy led to the re-affirmation of the Salic law, the cause of his death is still not known today. The premature death of John brought the first issue of succession of the Capetian dynasty. When Louis X, his father, died without a son to succeed him and it was then decided to wait until his pregnant widow, Clementia of Hungary, delivered the child. The kings brother, Philip the Tall, was in charge of the regency of the kingdom against his uncle Charles of Valois, the birth of a male child was expected to give France its king. The problem of succession returned when John died five days after birth, Philip ascended the throne at the expense of Johns four-year-old half-sister, Joan, daughter of Louis X and Margaret of Burgundy. Various legends circulated about this royal child, first, it was claimed that his uncle Philip the Tall had him poisoned. Then a strange story a few decades later came to start the rumor that the little King John was not dead, during the captivity of John the Good, a man named Giannino Baglioni claimed to be John I and thus the heir to the throne. He tried to assert his rights, but was captured in Provence, shortly after they met in 1354, di Rienzo was assassinated, and Baglioni waited two years to report his claims. He went to the Hungarian court where Louis I of Hungary, nephew of Clemence of Hungary, recognized him as the son of Louis, in 1360, Baglioni went to Avignon, but Pope Innocent VI refused to receive him. After several attempts to gain recognition, he was arrested and imprisoned in Naples, maurice Druons historical novel series Les Rois maudits dramatises this theory. In La Loi des mâles, the infant John is temporarily switched with the child of Guccio Baglioni and he is subsequently poisoned by Mahaut, Countess of Artois, in order to place Johns uncle, Philippe, Count of Poitiers, on the throne. Marie is coerced into secretly raising John as her own son, an adult Giannino was portrayed by Jean-Gérard Sandoz in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, and by Lorans Stoica in the 2005 adaptation. List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time Summaries of Foreign Reviews, Natura ed Arte - Giannino Baglioni

John I of France
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Tomb Effigy of John the Posthumous
John I of France
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Funerary convoy of John I.

81.
Philip V of France
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Philip V, the Tall, was King of France and King of Navarre. He reigned from 1316 to his death and was the monarch of the main line of the House of Capet. As the second son of king Philip IV, he was entitled to an appanage, when Louis died in 1316, he left a daughter and a pregnant wife, Clementia of Hungary. Philip the Tall successfully claimed the regency, Queen Clementia gave birth to a boy, who was proclaimed king as John I, but the infant king lived only for five days. At the death of his nephew, Philip immediately had himself crowned at Reims, however, his legitimacy was challenged by the party of Louis X’s daughter Joan. The succession of Philip, instead of Joan, set the precedent for the French royal succession that would be known as the Salic law. A spontaneous popular crusade started in Normandy in 1320 aiming to liberate Iberia from the Moors, instead the angry populace marched to the south attacking castles, royal officials, priests, lepers, and Jews. Philip V engaged in a series of reforms intended to improve the management of the kingdom. These reforms included the creation of an independent Court of Finances, the standardization of weights and measures, Philip V died from dysentery in 1322 without a male heir and was succeeded by his younger brother Charles IV. Philip was born in Lyon, the son of King Philip IV of France. His father granted to him the county of Poitiers in appanage, modern historians have described Philip V as a man of considerable intelligence and sensitivity, and the wisest and politically most apt of Philip IVs three sons. At the heart of the problems for both Philip IV and Louis X were taxes and the difficulty in raising them outside of crises, Philip married Joan, the eldest daughter of Count Otto IV of Burgundy, in 1307. The original plan had been for Louis X to marry Joan, Philip went to great lengths not only to endow Joan with lands and money but to try to ensure that these gifts were irrevocable in the event of his early death. Amongst the various gifts were a palace, villages, additional money for jewels, and her servants and the property of all the Jews in Burgundy, which he gave to Joan in 1318. Joan was implicated in Margarets adultery case during 1314, Margaret was accused and convicted of adultery with two knights, upon the testimony of their sister-in-law, Isabella. Joan was suspected of having known about the adultery, placed under house arrest at Dourdan as punishment. With Philips support she continued to protest her innocence, and by 1315 her name had been cleared by the Paris Parlement, partially through Philips influence and it is unclear why Philip stood by her in the way that he did. Philips older brother, Louis X, died in 1316 leaving the pregnant Clementia of Hungary as his widow

Philip V of France
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Contemporary picture from the L'arbre généalogique Bernard Gui, Généalogie des rois de France
Philip V of France
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Philip engineered a hasty coronation after the death of his nephew, the young John I, to build support for his bid for the French throne in 1316-17.
Philip V of France
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Philip took steps to reform the French currency during the course of his reign, including these silver Tournois coins.
Philip V of France
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Philip pursued a successful diplomatic and dynastic solution to the long running tensions with Flanders.

82.
Francis I of France
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Francis I was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois, reigning from 1515 until his death. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a male heir. Francis reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres. He was also known as François au Grand Nez, the Grand Colas, following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, he sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time. Francis was born on 12 September 1494 at the Château de Cognac in the town of Cognac, which at that time lay in the province of Saintonge, today the town lies in the department of Charente. Francis was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. His family was not expected to inherit the throne, as his third cousin King Charles VIII was still young at the time of his birth, as was his fathers cousin the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII. However, Charles VIII died childless in 1498 and was succeeded by Louis XII, the Salic Law prevailed in France, thus females were ineligible to inherit the throne. Therefore, the four-year-old Francis became the heir presumptive to the throne of France in 1498 and was vested with the title of Duke of Valois. In 1505, Louis XII, having fallen ill, ordered that his daughter Claude and Francis be married immediately, Claude was heiress to the Duchy of Brittany through her mother, Anne of Brittany. Following Annes death, the took place on 18 May 1514. Louis died shortly afterwards and Francis inherited the throne and he was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on 25 January 1515, with Claude as his queen consort. As Francis was receiving his education, ideas emerging from the Italian Renaissance were influential in France, some of his tutors, such as François Desmoulins de Rochefort and Christophe de Longueil, were attracted by these new ways of thinking and attempted to influence Francis. His academic education had been in arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, Francis came to learn chivalry, dancing, and music and he loved archery, falconry, horseback riding, hunting, jousting, real tennis and wrestling. He ended up reading philosophy and theology and he was fascinated with art, literature, poetry and his mother, who had a high admiration for Italian Renaissance art, passed this interest on to her son

83.
Charles IX of France
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Charles IX was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1560 until his death. He ascended the throne of France upon the death of his brother Francis II, after decades of tension, war broke out between Protestants and Catholics after the massacre of Vassy in 1562. This event, known as the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre, was a significant blow to the Huguenot movement, Charles sought to take advantage of the disarray of the Huguenots by ordering the Siege of La Rochelle, but was unable to take the Protestant stronghold. He died without male issue in 1574 and was succeeded by his brother Henry III. He was born Charles Maximilian, third son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, in the royal chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Styled since birth as Duke of Angoulême, he was created Duke of Orléans after the death of his older brother Louis, his parents second son, on 14 May 1564, Charles was presented the Order of the Garter by Henry Carey. His father died in 1559, and was succeeded by his elder brother, after Franciss short rule, the ten-year-old Charles was immediately proclaimed king on 5 December 1560. When Francis II died, the Privy Council appointed his mother, Catherine de Medici, as governor of France, with sweeping powers, on 15 May 1561, Charles was consecrated in the cathedral at Reims. Antoine of Bourbon, himself in line to the French throne, Charles reign was dominated by the French Wars of Religion, which pitted various factions against each other. Queen Catherine, though nominally a Catholic, initially tried to steer a course between the two factions, attempting to keep the peace and augment royal power. The regent Catherine tried to foster reconciliation at the Colloquy at Poissy and, after that failed, made several concessions to the Huguenots in the Edict of Saint-Germain in January 1562. Nonetheless, war broke out when some retainers of the House of Guise, hoping to avenge the attempt of Amboise, in return, the monarchy revoked the concessions given to the Huguenots. After the military leaders of both sides were killed or captured in battles at Rouen, Dreux, and Orléans. The war was followed by four years of an armed peace. After this victory, Charles declared his legal majority in August 1563, however, Catherine would continue to play a principal role in politics and often dominated her son. In March 1564, the King and his mother set out from Fontainebleau on a tour of France. Their tour spanned two years and brought them through Bar, Lyon, Salon-de-Provence, Carcassonne, Toulouse, Bayonne, La Rochelle, during this trip, Charles IX issued the Edict of Roussillon, which standardised 1 January as the first day of the year throughout France. War again broke out in 1567 after reports of iconoclasm in Flanders prompted Charles to support Catholics there

84.
Henry III of France
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Henry III was a monarch of the House of Valois who was elected the monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1575 and ruled as King of France from 1574 until his death. He was the last French monarch of the Valois dynasty, as the fourth son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, Henry was not expected to assume the throne of France. He was thus a candidate for the vacant Commonwealth throne. Henrys rule over Commonwealth was brief, but notable, the Henrician Articles he signed into law accepting the Commonwealth throne established Poland as an elective monarchy subject to free election by the Polish nobility. Of his three brothers, two would live long enough to ascend the French throne, but both died young and without a legitimate male heir. He abandoned Commonwealth upon receiving word that he had inherited the throne of France at the age of 22, Henry III was himself a politique, arguing that a strong and religiously tolerant monarchy would save France from collapse. Henry IIIs legitimate heir was his distant cousin Henry, King of Navarre, the Catholic League, led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, sought to exclude Protestants from the succession and championed the Catholic Charles, Cardinal of Bourbon, as Henry IIIs heir. Henry was born at the royal Château de Fontainebleau, the son of King Henry II and Catherine de Medici and grandson of Francis I of France. His older brothers were Francis II of France, Charles IX of France and he was made Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orléans in 1560, then Duke of Anjou in 1566. He was his mothers favourite, she called him chers yeux and lavished fondness and his elder brother, Charles, grew to detest him, partially because he resented his better health. In his youth, Henry was considered the best of the sons of Catherine de Medici, unlike his father and elder brothers, he had little interest in the traditional Valois pastimes of hunting and physical exercise. Although he was fond of fencing and skilled in it, he preferred to indulge his tastes for the arts. These predilections were attributed to his Italian mother, at one point in his youth he showed a tendency towards Protestantism as a means of rebelling. At the age of nine, calling himself a little Huguenot, he refused to attend Mass, sang Protestant psalms to his sister Margaret and his mother firmly cautioned her children against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies. Instead, he became nominally Roman Catholic, reports that Henry engaged in same sex relations with his court favourites, known as the mignons, date back to his own time. Certainly he enjoyed relationships with them. The scholar Louis Crompton provides substantial contemporary evidence of Henry IIIs homosexuality, and it is difficult, he writes, to reconcile the king whose use of favourites is so logically strategic with the man who goes to pieces when one of them dies. In 1570, discussions commenced to arrange for Henry to court Queen Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth, almost 37, was expected by many parties in her country to marry and produce an heir

85.
Henry IV of France
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Henry IV, also known by the epithet Good King Henry, was King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon, baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne dAlbret, Queen of Navarre, he inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomews Day massacre, and later led Protestant forces against the royal army. Henry, as Head of the House of Bourbon, was a direct descendant of Louis IX of France. Upon the death of his brother-in-law and distant cousin Henry III of France in 1589 and he initially kept the Protestant faith and had to fight against the Catholic League, which denied that he could wear Frances crown as a Protestant. To obtain mastery over his kingdom, after four years of stalemate, as a pragmatic politician, he displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the era. Notably, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants and he was assassinated in 1610 by François Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII. Considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants, an unpopular king immediately after his accession, Henrys popularity greatly improved after his death, in light of repeated victories over his enemies and his conversion to Catholicism. The Good King Henry was remembered for his geniality and his concern about the welfare of his subjects. He was celebrated in the popular song Vive le roi Henri, Henry was born in Pau, the capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of Béarn. His parents were Queen Joan III of Navarre and her consort, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, although baptised as a Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of Religion, on 9 June 1572, upon his mothers death, he became King of Navarre. At Queen Joans death, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry II, the wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572 on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral. On 24 August, the Saint Bartholomews Day Massacre began in Paris, several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henrys wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout the country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and he was made to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at Tours and he named his 16-year-old sister, Catherine de Bourbon, regent of Béarn. Catherine held the regency for nearly thirty years, Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III, who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574. Because Henry of Navarre was the senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX, King Henry III had no choice

86.
Louis XVI of France
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Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste, was the last King of France and Navarre before the French Revolution, during which he was also known as Louis Capet. In 1765, at the death of his father, Louis, Dauphin of France, son and heir apparent of Louis XV of France, Louis XVI was guillotined on 21 January 1793. The first part of his reign was marked by attempts to reform France in accordance with Enlightenment ideas and these included efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille, and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics. The French nobility reacted to the reforms with hostility. Louis implemented deregulation of the market, advocated by his liberal minister Turgot. In periods of bad harvests, it would lead to food scarcity which would prompt the masses to revolt, from 1776, Louis XVI actively supported the North American colonists, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain, which was realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the Ancien Régime and this led to the convening of the Estates-General of 1789. In 1789, the storming of the Bastille during riots in Paris marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Louiss indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to view him as a symbol of the tyranny of the Ancien Régime. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined, and the abolition of the monarchy, Louis XVI was the only King of France ever to be executed, and his death brought an end to more than a thousand years of continuous French monarchy. Louis-Auguste de France, who was given the title Duc de Berry at birth, was born in the Palace of Versailles. Out of seven children, he was the son of Louis, the Dauphin of France. His mother was Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. A strong and healthy boy, but very shy, Louis-Auguste excelled in his studies and had a taste for Latin, history, geography, and astronomy. He enjoyed physical activities such as hunting with his grandfather, and rough-playing with his brothers, Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence. From an early age, Louis-Auguste had been encouraged in another of his hobbies, locksmithing, upon the death of his father, who died of tuberculosis on 20 December 1765, the eleven-year-old Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin. His mother never recovered from the loss of her husband, and died on 13 March 1767, throughout his education, Louis-Auguste received a mixture of studies particular to religion, morality, and humanities. His instructors may have also had a hand in shaping Louis-Auguste into the indecisive king that he became

87.
Louis XVII of France
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As the son of the king, he was a Fils de France. His older brother, Louis Joseph, died in June 1789, when his father was executed on 21 January 1793, during the middle-period of the French Revolution, he became King of France and Navarre in the eyes of the royalists. However, since France was by then a republic, and Louis XVII had been imprisoned from August 1792 until his death from illness in 1795 at the age of 10, he was never officially king, nor did he rule. Louis-Charles de France was born at the Palace of Versailles, the son and third child of his parents, Louis XVI. He became the Dauphin at the death of his elder brother, as customary in royal families, Louis-Charles was cared for by multiple people. Queen Marie Antoinette appointed governesses to look after all three of her children, Louis-Charles original governess was Yolande de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, who left France at the beginning of the revolution, on the night of 16–17 July 1789. She was replaced by marquise Louise Élisabeth de Tourzel, additionally, the queen selected Agathe de Rambaud to be the official nurse of Louis-Charles. Alain Decaux wrote, Madame de Rambaud was officially in charge of the care of the Dauphin from the day of his birth until 10 August 1792, in other words, for seven years. During these seven years, she never left him, she cradled him, took care of him, dressed him, comforted him, many times, more than Marie Antoinette, she was a true mother for him. On 21 June 1791, the tried to escape in what is known as the Flight to Varennes. After the family was recognized, they were back to Paris. When the Tuileries Palace was stormed by a mob on 10 August 1792. On 13 August, the family was imprisoned in the tower of the Temple. At first, their conditions were not extremely harsh, but they were prisoners and were re-styled as Capets by the newborn Republic, on 11 December, at the beginning of his trial, Louis XVI, was separated from his family. Under the new constitution, the heir to the throne of France, Louis-Charles held that title until the fall of the monarchy on 21 September 1792. At the death of his father on 21 January 1793, royalists and foreign powers intent on restoring the monarchy held him to be the new king of France, the tales told by royalist writers of the cruelty inflicted by Simon and his wife on the child are not proven. Louis Charles sister, Marie Therese, wrote in her memoires, about the monster Simon, antoine Simons wife Marie-Jeanne, in fact, took great care of the childs person. Stories survive narrating how he was encouraged to eat and drink to excess, however, the scenes related by Alcide de Beauchesne of the physical martyrdom of the child are not supported by any testimony, though he was at this time seen by a great number of people

88.
House of Bonaparte
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Napoleon turned the Grande Armée against every major European power and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories during the Napoleonic Wars. He installed members of his family on the thrones of client states, the House of Bonaparte formed the Imperial House of France during the French Empire, together with some non-Bonaparte family members. The dynasty held power for around a decade until the Napoleonic Wars began to take their toll, between the years 1852 and 1870 there was a Second French Empire, when a member of the Bonaparte dynasty again ruled France, Napoleon III, the son of Louis Bonaparte. However, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 the dynasty was ousted from the Imperial Throne. Since that time there has been a series of pretenders, supporters of the Bonaparte familys claim to the throne of France are known as Bonapartists. Current head Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, has a Bourbon mother, the Bonaparte family were from minor Italian nobility who held most of their property in the hill town of San Miniato near Florence, Italy. The name derives from Italian, buona, good and parte, after settling in Florence the family enjoyed a relationship with the then ruling Medici family. Jacopo Buonaparte was a friend and advisor to Medici Pope Clement VII, jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the sack of Rome, which is one of the most important historical documents recounting that event. Jacopos brother Benedetto Buonaparte maintained political neutrality, the family later separated into two branches, One stayed in San Miniato, and the other moved to Sarzana. Buonaparte-Sarzana, Nobili di Sarzana had been compelled to leave Florence due to the defeat of the Ghibellines, a member of the Sarzana branch and ancestor to Napoleon, Francesco Buonaparte came to Corsica in 16th century when the island was in Genoese possession. The Buonaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato, the last member of the Italian branches was a canon named Gregorio Bonaparte, who died in 1803 leaving Napoleon as heir. Napoleon is the most prominent name associated with the Bonaparte family because he conquered much of the Western world during the part of the 19th century. He was elected as First Consul of France on 10 November 1799 with the help of his brother, Lucien Bonaparte and he was crowned Emperor of the French and ruled from 1804–1814,1815. Napoleons son Napoléon François Charles Joseph was created King of Rome and was later styled Napoléon II by loyalists of the dynasty, with his death, the family lost much of its remaining political appeal, though claimants continue to assert their right to the imperial title. A political movement for Corsican independence surfaced in the 1990s which included a Bonapartist restoration in its programme and he was a minor official in the local courts. Prince Napoléon Lucien Charles Murat, married Caroline Georgina Fraser, Prince Louis Napoléon Murat, married in Odessa, Eudoxia Mikhailovna Somova, had issue now extinct in male line. S. In 1804 Napoleon I changed the arms to Azure an imperial eagle or, the change applied to all members of his family except for his brother Lucien and his nephew, the son from Jeromes first marriage. According to a studies by G. Lucotte and his coauthors based on DNA research since 2011 and this haplogroup, rare in Europe, has its highest concentration in Ethiopia and in the Near East

House of Bonaparte
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Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801), by Jacques-Louis David.
House of Bonaparte
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Imperial coat of arms
House of Bonaparte
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The Four Napoleons
House of Bonaparte
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Jérôme Bonaparte, founder of the legitimate line

89.
Bourbon Restoration
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The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history following the fall of Napoleon in 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830. The brothers of executed Louis XVI of France reigned in highly conservative fashion, and they were nonetheless unable to reverse most of the changes made by the French Revolution and Napoleon. At the Congress of Vienna they were treated respectfully, but had to give up all the gains made since 1789. King Louis XVI of the House of Bourbon had been overthrown and executed during the French Revolution, a coalition of European powers defeated Napoleon in the War of the Sixth Coalition, ended the First Empire in 1814, and restored the monarchy to the brothers of Louis XVI. The Bourbon Restoration lasted from 6 April 1814 until the uprisings of the July Revolution of 1830. There was an interlude in spring 1815—the Hundred Days—when the return of Napoleon forced the Bourbons to flee France, when Napoleon was again defeated by the Seventh Coalition they returned to power in July. During the Restoration, the new Bourbon regime was a monarchy, unlike the absolutist Ancien Régime. The period was characterized by a conservative reaction, and consequent minor but consistent occurrences of civil unrest. It also saw the reestablishment of the Catholic Church as a power in French politics. The eras of the French Revolution and Napoleon brought a series of changes to France which the Bourbon Restoration did not reverse. First of all, France became highly centralized, with all decisions made in Paris, the political geography was completely reorganized and made uniform. France was divided more than 80 departments, which have endured into the 21st century. Each department had an administrative structure, and was tightly controlled by a prefect appointed by Paris. The Catholic Church lost all its lands and buildings during the Revolution, the bishop still ruled his diocese, and communicated with the pope through the government in Paris. Bishops, priests, nuns and other people were paid salaries by the state. All the old rites and ceremonies were retained, and the government maintained the religious buildings. The Church was allowed to operate its own seminaries and to some extent local schools as well, bishops were much less powerful than before, and had no political voice. However, the Catholic Church reinvented itself and put a new emphasis on personal religiosity that gave it a hold on the psychology of the faithful, education was centralized, with the Grand Master of the University of France controlling every element of the entire educational system from Paris

90.
Louis XVIII of France
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Louis XVIII, known as The Desired, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1814 to 1824 except for a period in 1815 known as the Hundred Days. Until his accession to the throne of France, Louis held the title of Count of Provence as brother of King Louis XVI, on 21 September 1792, the National Convention abolished the monarchy and deposed King Louis XVI, who was later executed by guillotine. When the young Louis XVII, Louis XVIs son, died in prison in June 1795, during the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, Louis XVIII lived in exile in Prussia, the United Kingdom and Russia. When the Sixth Coalition finally defeated Napoleon in 1814, Louis was placed in what he, Napoleon escaped from his exile in Elba, however, and restored his French Empire. Louis XVIII fled and a Seventh Coalition declared war on the French Empire, defeated Napoleon, Louis XVIII ruled as king for slightly less than a decade. The Bourbon Restoration regime was a constitutional monarchy, as a constitutional monarch, Louis XVIIIs royal prerogative was reduced substantially by the Charter of 1814, Frances new constitution. Louis had no children, therefore, upon his death, the passed to his brother, Charles. Louis XVIII was the last French monarch to die while reigning, as his successor Charles X abdicated and both Louis Philippe I and Napoléon III were deposed. Louis Stanislas Xavier, styled Count of Provence from birth, was born on 17 November 1755 in the Palace of Versailles, the son of Louis, Dauphin of France and he was the grandson of the reigning King Louis XV. As a son of the Dauphin he was a Fils de France, Louis Stanislas was christened Louis Stanislas Xavier six months after his birth in accordance with Bourbon family tradition, being nameless before his baptism. By this act, he also a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit. The former died in 1761, leaving Louis Auguste as heir to their father until the Dauphins own premature death in 1765, the two deaths elevated Louis Stanislas to second in the line of succession, while Louis Auguste acquired the title Dauphin. Louis Stanislas found comfort in his governess, Madame de Marsan, Governess of the Children of France, as he was her favourite among his siblings. Louis Stanislas was taken away from his governess when he turned seven, Antoine de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade, Duke of La Vauguyon, a friend of his father, was named his governor. Louis Stanislas was an intelligent boy, excelling in classics and his education was of the same quality and consistency as that of his older brother, Louis Auguste, despite the fact that Louis Auguste was heir and Louis Stanislas was not. Louis Stanislas education was religious in nature, several of his teachers were men of the cloth. La Vauguyon drilled into young Louis Stanislas and his brothers the way he thought princes should know how to withdraw themselves, to like to work, and to know how to reason correctly. In the same month his household was founded, Louis was granted titles by his grandfather, Louis XV, Duke of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Perche

91.
Henri, Count of Chambord
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Henri of Artois, Count of Chambord was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Henri V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. Afterwards, he was the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France from 1844 to 1883, as the grandson of the King Charles X of France, Henri was a Petit-Fils de France. He also was the last legitimate descendant in the line of Louis XV of France. Henri was born on 29 September 1820, in the Pavillon de Marsan and his father, the duc de Berry, had been assassinated seven months before his birth. At birth, Henri was given the title of duc de Bordeaux, because of his posthumous birth when the senior line of the House of Bourbon appeared about to become extinct, he was given the name Dieudonné. Royalists called him the miracle child, Charles X urged his cousin Louis Philippe of Orléans, as Lieutenant général du royaume, to proclaim Henri as Henri V, King of France, but Louis Philippe ignored him. Henri and his family left France and went into exile on 16 August 1830, while some French monarchists recognized him as their sovereign, others disputed the validity of the abdications of his grandfather and of his uncle. Still others recognised the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe, with the death of his grandfather in 1836, and of his uncle in 1844, Henri became the genealogically senior claimant to the French throne. His supporters were called Legitimists to distinguish them from the Orléanists, in November 1846, the comte de Chambord married his second cousin Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, daughter of Duke Francis IV of Modena and Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Henri was then pretender for both Legitimists and Orléanists, and the restoration of monarchy in France seemed a close possibility. However, Henri insisted that he would accept the crown only on condition that France abandon its tricolour flag and he rejected a compromise, whereby the fleur-de-lys would be the new kings personal standard, and the tricolour would remain the national flag. A temporary Third Republic was established, to wait for Henris death, but by the time this occurred in 1883, public opinion had swung behind the Republic as the form of government which, in the words of the former President Adolphe Thiers, divides us least. Thus, Henri could be hailed by republicans such as Georges Clemenceau as the French Washington — the one man without whom the Republic could not have been founded. Henri died on 24 August 1883 at his residence in Frohsdorf, Austria and he was buried in his grandfather Charles Xs crypt in the church of the Franciscan Kostanjevica Monastery in Gorizia, then Austria, now in Slovenian city of Nova Gorica. His personal property, including the château de Chambord, was left to his nephew, Robert I, Henris death left the Legitimist line of succession distinctly confused. On one hand, Henri himself had accepted that the head of the Maison de France would be the head of the Orléans line, thus these Legitimists settled on Juan, Count of Montizón, the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, as their claimant to the French crown. List of shortest-reigning monarchs Brown, Marvin Luther, the Comte de Chambord, The Third Republics Uncompromising King. Henri, comte de Chambord, Journal, Carnets inédits, the Death of the comte de Chambord, British Medical Journal 2, no

Henri, Count of Chambord
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Later portrait by Adeodata Malatesta
Henri, Count of Chambord
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The young Prince Henri inspecting the royal guard at Rambouillet on 2 August 1830.
Henri, Count of Chambord
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Plaque, at the château de Chambord, of the 5 July 1871 declaration, known as déclaration du drapeau blanc, by Henri, comte de Chambord (Henri V).
Henri, Count of Chambord
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The Duchess of Berry and her children by François Gérard, 1822

92.
July Monarchy
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The July Monarchy, was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under Louis Philippe I, starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848. It began with the overthrow of the government of Charles X. The king promised to follow the juste milieu, or the middle-of-the-road, avoiding the extremes of the supporters of Charles X. The July Monarchy was dominated by wealthy bourgeoisie and numerous former Napoleonic officials and it followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of François Guizot. The king promoted friendship with Great Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, by 1848, a year in which many European states had a revolution, the kings popularity had collapsed and he was overthrown. Louis Phillipe was pushed to the throne by an alliance between the people of Paris, the republicans, who had set up barricades in the capital, and the liberal bourgeoisie. However, at the end of his reign the so-called Citizen King was overthrown by similar barricades during the February Revolution of 1848, the Legitimists withdrew from the political stage to their castles, leaving the stage opened for the struggle between the Orleanists and the Republicans. Louis-Philippe was crowned King of the French, instead of King of France, Louis-Philippe, who had flirted with liberalism in his youth, rejected much of the pomp and circumstance of the Bourbons and surrounded himself with merchants and bankers. The July Monarchy, however, remained a time of turmoil, a large group of Legitimists on the right demanded the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne. On the left, Republicanism and, later Socialism, remained a powerful force, late in his reign Louis-Philippe became increasingly rigid and dogmatic and his President of the Council, François Guizot, had become deeply unpopular, but Louis-Philippe refused to remove him. The situation gradually escalated until the Revolutions of 1848 saw the fall of the monarchy, however, during the first several years of his regime, Louis-Philippe appeared to move his government toward legitimate, broad-based reform. And indeed, Louis-Phillipe and his ministers adhered to policies that seemed to promote the central tenets of the constitution, thus, though the July Monarchy seemed to move toward reform, this movement was largely illusory. During the years of the July Monarchy, enfranchisement roughly doubled, however, this still represented only roughly one percent of population, and as the requirements for voting were tax-based, only the wealthiest gained the privilege. By implication, the enlarged enfranchisement tended to favor the wealthy merchant bourgeoisie more than any other group, beyond simply increasing their presence within the Chamber of Deputies, this electoral enlargement provided the bourgeoisie the means by which to challenge the nobility in legislative matters. Thus, while appearing to honor his pledge to increase suffrage, Louis-Philippe acted primarily to empower his supporters, the inclusion of only the wealthiest also tended to undermine any possibility of the growth of a radical faction in Parliament, effectively serving socially conservative ends. The reformed Charter of 1830 limited the power of the King—stripping him of his ability to propose and decree legislation, one of the first acts of Louis-Philippe in constructing his cabinet was to appoint the rather conservative Casimir Perier as the premier of that body. Perier, a banker, was instrumental in shutting down many of the Republican secret societies, in addition, he oversaw the dismemberment of the National Guard after it proved too supportive of radical ideologies. He performed all of actions, of course, with royal approval

93.
Louis Philippe I
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Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 as the leader of the Orléanist party. He spent 21 years in exile after he left France in 1793 and he was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate in the wake of the events of the July Revolution of that year. His government, known as the July Monarchy, was dominated by members of a wealthy French elite and he followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of the French statesman François Guizot during the period 1840–48. He also promoted friendship with Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the conquest of Algeria and his popularity faded as economic conditions in France deteriorated in 1847, and he was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848. He lived out his life in exile in Great Britain, Louis Philippe was born in the Palais Royal, the residence of the Orléans family in Paris, to Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince of the Blood and his mother was an extremely wealthy heiress who was descended from Louis XIV of France through a legitimized line. Louis Philippe was the eldest of three sons and a daughter, a family that was to have erratic fortunes from the beginning of the French Revolution to the Bourbon Restoration. Louis Philippes father was exiled from the court, and the Orléans confined themselves to studies of the literature. Louis Philippe was tutored by the Countess of Genlis, beginning in 1782 and she instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought, it is probably during this period that Louis Philippe picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. When Louis Philippes grandfather died in 1785, his father succeeded him as Duke of Orléans, from October 1788 to October 1789, the Palais Royal was a meeting-place for the revolutionaries. Louis Philippe grew up in a period that changed Europe as a whole and, following his fathers support for the Revolution. In his diary, he reports that he took the initiative to join the Jacobin Club. In June 1791, Louis Philippe got his first opportunity to become involved in the affairs of France, in 1785, he had been given the hereditary appointment of Colonel of the 14th Regiment of Dragoons. With war on the horizon in 1791, all proprietary colonels were ordered to join their regiments, Louis Philippe showed himself to be a model officer, and he demonstrated his personal bravery in two famous instances. The young colonel broke through the crowd and extricated the two priests, who then fled, at a river crossing on the same day, another crowd threatened to harm the priests. Louis Philippe put himself between a peasant armed with a carbine and the priests, saving their lives, the next day, Louis Philippe dove into a river to save a drowning local engineer. For this action, he received a crown from the local municipality. His regiment was moved north to Flanders at the end of 1791 after the Declaration of Pillnitz, Louis Philippe served under his fathers crony, the Duke of Biron, along with several officers who later gained distinction in Napoleons empire and afterwards

94.
Second French Empire
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The Second French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France. The structure of the French government during the Second Empire was little changed from the First, but Emperor Napoleon III stressed his own imperial role as the foundation of the government. He had so often, while in prison or in exile and his answer was to organize a system of government based on the principles of the Napoleonic Idea. This meant that the emperor, the elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, ruled supreme. He himself drew power and legitimacy from his role as representative of the great Napoleon I of France, the anti-parliamentary French Constitution of 1852 instituted by Napoleon III on 14 January 1852, was largely a repetition of that of 1848. All executive power was entrusted to the emperor, who, as head of state, was responsible to the people. The people of the Empire, lacking democratic rights, were to rely on the benevolence of the rather than on the benevolence of politicians. He was to nominate the members of the council of state, whose duty it was to prepare the laws, and of the senate, a body permanently established as a constituent part of the empire. One innovation was made, namely, that the Legislative Body was elected by universal suffrage and this new political change was rapidly followed by the same consequence as had attended that of Brumaire. The press was subjected to a system of cautionnements and avertissements, in order to counteract the opposition of individuals, a surveillance of suspects was instituted. In the same way public instruction was strictly supervised, the teaching of philosophy was suppressed in the lycées, for seven years France had no democratic life. The Empire governed by a series of plebiscites, up to 1857 the Opposition did not exist, from then till 1860 it was reduced to five members, Darimon, Émile Ollivier, Hénon, Jules Favre and Ernest Picard. On 2 December 1851 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who had been elected President of the Republic and he thus became sole ruler of France, and re-established universal suffrage, previously abolished by the Assembly. His decisions and the extension of his mandate for 10 years were popularly endorsed by a referendum later that month that attracted an implausible 92 percent support. A new constitution was enacted in January 1852 which made Louis-Napoléon president for 10 years, however, he was not content with merely being an authoritarian president. Almost as soon as he signed the new document into law, in response to officially-inspired requests for the return of the empire, the Senate scheduled a second referendum in November, which passed with 97 percent support. As with the December 1851 referendum, most of the yes votes were manufactured out of thin air, the empire was formally re-established on 2 December 1852, and the Prince-President became Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. The constitution concentrated so much power in his hands that the only changes were to replace the word president with the word emperor

Second French Empire
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Napoléon III
Second French Empire
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Flag
Second French Empire
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The official declaration of the Second Empire, at the Hôtel de Ville de Paris, on December 2, 1852.

95.
Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during the first years of the Empire, Napoleons government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859, thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship, and his came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly, Napoleon III is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon, Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system, and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with Frances other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize, womens education greatly expanded, as did the list of required subjects in public schools. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and he was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War and his regime assisted Italian unification and, in doing so, annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France, at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific, on the other hand, his armys intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure. Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the power of Prussia. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies, the French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 20–21 April 1808. His presumed father was Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleons wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, as empress, Joséphine proposed the marriage as a way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis married Hortense when he was twenty-four and she was nineteen and they had a difficult relationship, and only lived together for brief periods

Napoleon III
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Napoleon III
Napoleon III
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Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846), the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the King of Holland, and father of Napoleon III.
Napoleon III
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Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), the mother of Napoleon III, in 1808, the year Napoleon III was born.
Napoleon III
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The lakeside house at Arenenberg, Switzerland, where Napoleon III spent much of his youth and exile.

96.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

97.
Timeline of French history
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This is a timeline of French history, comprising important legal and changes and political events in France and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of France, see also the list of Frankish kings, French monarchs, and presidents of the French Republic and list of years in France. Category, Timelines of cities in France France Profile, Timeline, archived from the original on March 2009 – via University of North Carolina in Greensboro

Timeline of French history
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18th century

98.
Roman Gaul
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Roman Gaul refers to Gaul under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. The Roman Republic began its takeover of Celtic Gaul in 121 BC, julius Caesar significantly advanced the task by defeating the Celtic tribes in the Gallic Wars of 58-51 BC. In 22 BC, imperial administration of Gaul was reorganized, establishing the provinces of Gallia Aquitania, Gallia Belgica, parts of eastern Gaul were incorporated into the provinces Raetia and Germania Superior. During Late Antiquity, Gaulish and Roman culture amalgamated into a hybrid Gallo-Roman culture, the Gaulish language was marginalized and eventually extinct, being replaced by regional forms of Late Latin which in the medieval period developed into the group of Gallo-Romance languages. Roman control over the provinces deteriorated in the 4th and 5th centuries, the last vestiges of any Roman control over parts of Gaul were effaced with the defeat of Syagrius at the Battle of Soissons. Gaul had three divisions, one of which was divided into multiple Roman provinces, Gallia Cisalpina or Gaul this side of the Alps. Gallia Narbonensis, formerly Gallia Transalpina or Gaul across the Alps was originally conquered and annexed in 121 BC in an attempt to solidify communications between Rome and the Iberian peninsula. It comprised the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, most of Languedoc-Roussillon. Gallia Comata, or long haired Gaul, encompassed the remainder of present-day France, Belgium, and westernmost Germany, gauls continued writing some inscriptions in the Gaulish language, but switched from the Greek alphabet to the Latin alphabet during the Roman period. The Roman influence was most apparent in the areas of religion and administration. The Druidic religion was suppressed by Emperor Claudius I, and in later centuries Christianity was introduced, the prohibition of Druids and the syncretic nature of the Roman religion led to disappearance of the Celtic religion. It remains to this day poorly understood, current knowledge of the Celtic religion is based on archeology and via literary sources from several isolated areas such as Ireland, the Romans easily imposed their administrative, economic, artistic and literary culture. They wore the Roman tunic instead of their traditional clothing, the Romano-Gauls generally lived in the vici, small villages similar to those in Italy, or in villae, for the richest. Surviving Celtic influences also infiltrated back into the Roman Imperial culture in the 3rd century, for example, the Gaulish tunic—which gave Emperor Caracalla his surname—had not been replaced by Roman fashion. Similarly, certain Gaulish artisan techniques, such as the barrel, the Celtic heritage also continued in the spoken language. Gaulish spelling and pronunciation of Latin are apparent in several 5th century poets, the last pockets of Gaulish speakers appear to have lingered until the 6th or 7th century. Germanic placenames were first attested in border areas settled by Germanic colonizers, from the 4th to 5th centuries, the Franks settled in northern France and Belgium, the Alemanni in Alsace and Switzerland, and the Burgundians in Savoie. The Roman administration finally collapsed as remaining Roman troops withdrew southeast to protect Italy, between 455 and 476 the Visigoths, the Burgundians, and the Franks assumed control in Gaul

99.
France in the Middle Ages
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From the 13th century on, the state slowly regained control of a number of these lost powers. The crises of the 13th and 14th centuries led to the convening of an assembly, the Estates General. From the Middle Ages onward, French rulers believed their kingdoms had natural borders, the Pyrenees, the Alps and this was used as a pretext for an aggressive policy and repeated invasions. The belief, however, had little basis in reality for not all of territories were part of the Kingdom. France had important rivers that were used as waterways, the Loire, the Rhone and these rivers were settled earlier than the rest and important cities were founded on their banks but they were separated by large forests, marsh, and other rough terrains. Before the Romans conquered Gaul, the Gauls lived in villages organised in wider tribes, the Romans referred to the smallest of these groups as pagi and the widest ones as civitates. These pagi and civitates were often taken as a basis for the imperial administration and these religious provinces would survive until the French revolution. Discussion of the size of France in the Middle Ages is complicated by distinctions between lands personally held by the king and lands held in homage by another lord, the domaine royal of the Capetians was limited to the regions around Paris, Bourges and Sens. The great majority of French territory was part of Aquitaine, the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany, the Comté of Champagne, the Duchy of Burgundy, and other territories. Philip II Augustus undertook a massive French expansion in the 13th century, only in the 15th century would Charles VII and Louis XI gain control of most of modern-day France. The weather in France and Europe in the Middle Ages was significantly milder than during the preceding or following it. Historians refer to this as the Medieval Warm Period, lasting from about the 10th century to about the 14th century, part of the French population growth in this period is directly linked to this temperate weather and its effect on crops and livestock. At the end of the Middle Ages, France was the most populous region in Europe—having overtaken Spain, in the 14th century, before the arrival of the Black Death, the total population of the area covered by modern-day France has been estimated at around 17 million. The population of Paris is controversial, josiah Russell argued for about 80,000 in the early 14th century, although he noted that some other scholars suggested 200,000. The higher count would make it by far the largest city in western Europe, the Black Death killed an estimated one-third of the population from its appearance in 1348. The concurrent Hundred Years War slowed recovery and it would be the mid-16th century before the population recovered to mid-fourteenth century levels. The vast majority of the population spoke a variety of vernacular languages derived from vulgar Latin. Modern linguists typically add a group within France around Lyon

France in the Middle Ages
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A view of the remains of the Abbey of Cluny, a Benedictine monastery, was the centre of monastic life revival in the Middle Ages and marked an important step in the cultural rebirth following the Dark Ages.
France in the Middle Ages
France in the Middle Ages
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Godefroy de Bouillon, a French knight, leader of the First Crusade and founder of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
France in the Middle Ages
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Philip II victorious at Bouvines thus annexing Normandy and Anjou into his royal domains. This battle involved a complex set of alliances from three important states, the Kingdoms of France and England and the Holy Roman Empire.

100.
Early modern France
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The Kingdom of France in the early modern period, from the Renaissance to the Revolution, was a monarchy ruled by the House of Bourbon. This corresponds to the so-called Ancien Régime, the territory of France during this period increased until it included essentially the extent of the modern country, and it also included the territories of the first French colonial empire overseas. In the mid 15th century, France was significantly smaller than it is today, in addition, certain provinces within France were ostensibly personal fiefdoms of noble families. The late 15th, 16th and 17th centuries would see France undergo a massive territorial expansion, France also embarked on exploration, colonisation, and mercantile exchanges with the Americas, India, the Indian Ocean, the Far East, and a few African trading posts. The administrative and legal system in France in this period is called the Ancien Régime. The Black Death had killed an estimated one-third of the population of France from its appearance in 1348, the concurrent Hundred Years War slowed recovery. It would be the early 16th century before the population recovered to mid-14th century levels and these demographic changes also led to a massive increase in urban populations, although on the whole France remained a profoundly rural country. Paris was one of the most populated cities in Europe, other major French cities include Lyon, Rouen, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Marseille. These centuries saw several periods of epidemics and crop failures due to wars, between 1693 and 1694, France lost 6% of its population. In the extremely harsh winter of 1709, France lost 3. 5% of its population, in the past 300 years, no period has been so proportionally deadly for the French, both World Wars included. Linguistically, the differences in France were extreme, before the Renaissance, the language spoken in the north of France was a collection of different dialects called Oïl languages whereas the written and administrative language remained Latin. Nevertheless, in 1790, only half of the spoke or understood standard French. The southern half of the continued to speak Occitan languages, and other inhabitants spoke Breton, Catalan, Basque, Dutch. In the north of France, regional dialects of the various langues doïl continued to be spoken in rural communities, during the French revolution, the teaching of French was promoted in all the schools. The French used would be that of the system, which differed from the French spoken in the courts of France before the revolution. Like the orators during the French revolution, the pronunciation of every syllable would become the new language, France would not become a linguistically unified country until the end of the 19th century. The Peace of Etaples marks, for some, the beginning of the modern period in France. The invasion of Italy by Charles VIII in 1494 began 62 years of war with the Habsburgs, in 1445, the first steps were made towards fashioning a regular army out of the poorly disciplined mercenary bands that French kings traditionally relied on

Early modern France
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Francis I by Jean Clouet
Early modern France
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France on the eve of the modern era (1477). The red line denotes the boundary of the French kingdom, while the light blue the royal domain.
Early modern France
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Henry IV of France by Frans Pourbus the younger.
Early modern France
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Louis XIV King of France and of Navarre By Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701)

101.
Napoleonic era
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The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. The Congress of Vienna soon set out to restore Europe to pre-French Revolution days, Napoleon brought political stability to a land torn by revolution and war. He made peace with the Roman Catholic Church and reversed the most radical religious policies of the Convention, in 1804 Napoleon promulgated the Civil Code, a revised body of civil law, which also helped stabilize French society. The Civil Code confirmed many of the revolutionary policies of the National Assembly. The code restored patriarchal authority in the family, for example, whilst working to stabilise France, Napoleon also sought to extend his authority throughout Europe. Napoleons armies conquered the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, occupied lands, and he forced Austria, Prussia, the United Kingdom refused to recognise French hegemony and continued the war throughout. The First French Empire began to unravel in 1812, when he decided to invade Russia, Napoleon underestimated the difficulties his army would have to face whilst occupying Russia. Convinced that the Tsar was conspiring with his British enemies, Napoleon led an army of 600,000 soldiers to Moscow. He defeated the Russian army at Borodino before capturing Moscow, but the Tsar withdrew and Moscow was set ablaze, leaving Napoleons vast army without adequate shelter or supplies. Napoleon ordered a retreat, but the bitter Russian winter and repeated Russian attacks whittled down his army, the allies then continued a united effort against Napoleon until they had seized Paris forcing his abdication in 1814. His return to power the year was resisted by all the allies

Napoleonic era
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Strategic Situation of Europe 1798

102.
French Second Republic
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The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the 1851 coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, the Second Republic witnessed the tension between the Social and Democratic Republic and a liberal form of Republic, which exploded during the June Days Uprising of 1848. The industrial population of the faubourgs was welcomed by the National Guard on their way towards the centre of Paris, barricades were raised after the shooting of protestors outside the Guizot manor by soldiers. On 23 February 1848 Guizots cabinet resigned, abandoned by the petite bourgeoisie, the heads of the Left Centre and the dynastic Left, Molé and Thiers, declined the offered leadership. Odilon Barrot accepted it, and Bugeaud, commander-in-chief of the first military division, in the face of the insurrection which had now taken possession of the whole capital, Louis-Philippe decided to abdicate in favour of his grandson, Philippe, comte de Paris. The Republic was then proclaimed by Alphonse de Lamartine in the name of the government elected by the Chamber under the pressure of the mob. But this time the Palais Bourbon was not victorious over the Hôtel de Ville and it had to consent to a fusion of the two bodies, in which, however, the predominating elements were the moderate republicans. It was uncertain what the policy of the new government would be, the other party wished to maintain society on the basis of its traditional institutions, and rallied round the tricolore. The first collision took place as to the form which the 1848 Revolution was to take. On 5 March the government, under the pressure of the Parisian clubs, decided in favour of a reference to the people, and direct universal suffrage. This added the uneducated masses to the electorate and led to the election of the Constituent Assembly of 4 May 1848, the socialists thus formed a sort of state-within-a-state, complete with a government and an armed force. Even this pitiful dole, with no obligation to work, proved attractive, and all over France, workmen quit their jobs and traveled to Paris, where they swelled the ranks of the army under the red flag. The socialist economic plan was straining state finances, and as the émeute of 15 May had proven that it constituted a menace to the state. The socialist party was defeated and afterwards its members were deported, by the massacres of the June Days, the working classes were also alienated from it. The Duke of Wellington wrote at this time, France needs a Napoleon, the granting of universal suffrage to a society with Imperialist sympathies would benefit reactionaries, which culminated in the election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte as president of the republic. The new constitution, proclaiming a republic, direct universal suffrage. Under the new constitution, there was to be a single permanent Assembly of 750 members elected for a term of three years by the scrutin de liste, the Assembly would elect members of a Council of State to serve for six years. Laws would be proposed by the Council of State, to be voted on by the Assembly and he was to choose his ministers, who, like him, would be responsible to the Assembly

French Second Republic
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"Messrs. Victor Hugo and Émile de Girardin try to raise Prince Louis upon a shield [in the heroic Roman fashion]: not too steady!" Honoré Daumier 's: satirical lithograph published in Charivari, 11 December 1848
French Second Republic
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Flag

103.
Free France
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It was set up in London in June 1940 and also organised and supported the Resistance in occupied France. On 27 October 1940, the Empire Defense Council was constituted to organise the rule of the territories in central Africa and it was replaced on 24 September 1941 by the French National Committee. After the reconquest of North Africa, this was in turn merged with de Gaulles rival general Henri Girauds command in Algiers to form the French Committee of National Liberation. Exile officially ended with the capture of Paris by the 2nd Armoured Free French Division and Resistance forces on 25 August 1944, the Free French fought Axis and Vichy regime troops and served on battlefronts everywhere from the Middle East to Indochina and North Africa. The Free French Navy operated as a force to the Royal Navy and, in the North Atlantic. Free French units also served in the Royal Air Force, Soviet Air Force, the French Army of Africa switched allegiance to Free France, and this caused the Axis to occupy Vichy in reaction. On 1 August 1943, LArmée dAfrique was formally united with the Free French Forces to form LArmée française de la Liberation. By mid-1944, the forces of this army numbered more than 400,000, and they participated in the Normandy landings, the Free French government re-established a provisional republic after the liberation, preparing the ground for the Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically, an individual became Free French by enlisting in the military units organised by the CFN or by employment by the arm of the Committee. In many sources, Free French describes any French individual or unit that fought against Axis forces after the June 1940 armistice, postwar, to settle disputes over the Free French heritage, the French government issued an official definition of the term. Under this ministerial instruction of July 1953, only those who served with the Allies after the Franco-German armistice in 1940, between 27 May and 4 June, around 200,000 British soldiers and 140,000 French troops were evacuated from the beaches to safety in England. General Charles de Gaulle was a minister in the French cabinet during the Battle of France, as France was overwhelmed by the stunning German victory, he found himself part of a small group of politicians who argued against a negotiated surrender to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. That same day, the new French President of the Council, former First World War Marshal Philippe Pétain, De Gaulle briefly travelled to Bordeaux to continue the fight but, realising that Pétain would surrender, he returned to London on 17 June. On 18 June, General de Gaulle spoke to the French people via BBC radio, urging French soldiers, sailors and airmen to join in the fight against the Nazis and she has a great empire behind her. Together with the British Empire, she can form a bloc that controls the seas and she may, like England, draw upon the limitless industrial resources of the United States. In Vichys case those reasons were compounded with ideas of a Révolution nationale about stamping out Frances republican heritage. On 22 June 1940, Marshall Pétain signed an armistice with Germany, followed by a one with Italy on 24 June. After a parliamentary vote on 10 July, Pétain became leader of the newly established authoritarian regime known as Vichy France, despite de Gaulles call to continue the struggle, few French forces, at least initially, pledged their support

104.
Administrative divisions of France
–
The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. There are many divisions, which may have political, electoral. The French republic is divided into 18 regions,13 in metropolitan France and 5 in overseas France, the regions are subdivided into 96 departments. The departments are subdivided into 322 arrondissements, the arrondissements are subdivided into 1,995 cantons. The cantons are subdivided into 36,529 communes, three urban communes are further divided into municipal arrondissements. There are 20 arrondissements of Paris,16 arrondissements of Marseille, the city of Marseilles is also divided into 8 municipal sectors. Each sector is composed with two arrondissements. 4% of the population of metropolitan France living in them, each overseas region is coextensive with an overseas department, again with the same status as departments in metropolitan France. The first four departments were created in 1946 and preceded the four overseas regions. For elections it is divided into 6 electoral districts which differ slightly from the 5 administrative subdivisions, the 5 administrative subdivisions are divided into 48 communes. There also exist some associated communes as in metropolitan France, Saint-Barthélemy is a new overseas collectivity created on February 22,2007. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe department, the commune structure was abolished and Saint-Barthélemy is now one of only three permanently inhabited territories of the French Republic with no commune structure. There are no cantons and arrondissements either, Saint-Martin is also a new overseas collectivity created on February 22,2007. It was also previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe department, the commune structure was abolished and Saint-Martin is now one of only three permanently inhabited territories of the French Republic with no commune structure. There are no cantons and arrondissements either, saint-Pierre and Miquelon is divided into 2 communes with no arrondissements or cantons. These 3 districts are, Uvea, Sigave, and Alo, Uvea is the most populous and is further divided into 3 wards, Hahake, Mua, and Hihifo. Wallis and Futuna is one of only three permanently inhabited territories of the French Republic with no communes and it also has no arrondissements or cantons. 1 overseas territory, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, which have no permanent population, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands are divided into 5 districts,1. Amsterdam Island and Saint Paul Island 4, the Scattered Islands, a collection of six non permanently inhabited islands in the Indian Ocean, Banc du Geyser, Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, and Tromelin

Administrative divisions of France
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Regions and departments of France.

105.
Politics of France
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The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an indivisible, secular, democratic, the constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims Frances attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789. The political system of France consists of a branch, a legislative branch. Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government, the Government consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and is responsible to Parliament, Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate. It passes statutes and votes on the budget, it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament, former presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council. The independent judiciary is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes, the French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies. However, its administrative subdivisions—regions, departments and communes—have various legal functions, France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, later the European Union. As such, France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, the French government therefore has to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations. A popular referendum approved the constitution of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening the authority of the presidency, France has a semi-presidential system of government. As a consequence, the President is the pre-eminent figure in French politics and he appoints the Prime Minister, though he may not de jure dismiss him, if the Prime Minister is from the same political side, he can, in practice, have him resign on demand. He appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries, when parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation. Before 2002, Cohabitation was more common, because the term of the President was seven years, now that the term of the President has been shortened to five years, and that the elections are separated by only a few months, this is less likely to happen. Nicolas Sarkozy became President on 16 May 2007, succeeding Jacques Chirac, francois Hollande became President in 2012, succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy. The government is led by the Prime Minister, and is made up of junior and senior ministers and it has at its disposal the civil service, government agencies, and the armed forces. The government is responsible to Parliament, and the National Assembly may pass a motion of censure and this, in practice, forces the government to be from the same political party or coalition as the majority in the Assembly. Ministers have to answer questions from members of Parliament, both written and oral, this is known as the questions au gouvernement, in addition, ministers attend meetings of the houses of Parliament when laws pertaining to their areas of responsibility are being discussed. Ministers, however, can propose legislation to Parliament, since the Assembly is usually politically allied to the ministers, such legislation is, in general, the Prime Minister can engage the responsibility of his government on a law, under article 49-3 of the Constitution

Politics of France
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The National Assembly sits in the Palais Bourbon, by the Seine.
Politics of France
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France
Politics of France
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The Senate's amphitheater.
Politics of France
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The Conseil d'État sits in the Palais Royal.

106.
Elections in France
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Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens or appointed by elected officials. Referendums may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question, France elects on its national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature The president is elected for a five-year term, directly by the citizens. The National Assembly has 577 members, elected for a term in single seat-constituencies directly by the citizens. The Senate has 348 members, elected for six-year terms, see Government of France for more details about these political structures. In addition, French citizens elect a variety of local governments, France does not have a full-fledged two-party system, that is, a system where, though many political parties may exist, only two parties are relevant to the dynamics of power. See politics of France for more details, Elections are conducted according to rules set in the Constitution of France, organisational laws, and the electoral code. The campaigns end at midnight the Friday before the election, then, on election Sunday, by law, no polls can be published, no electoral publication and broadcasts can be made. The voting stations open at 8 am and close at 6 pm in small towns or at 8 pm in cities and it has been alleged that this discourages voting in these places. For this reason, since the 2000s, elections in French possessions in the Americas, as well as embassies and consulates there, are held on Saturdays as a special exemption. With the exception of senatorial election, for there is an electoral college. For municipal and European elections, citizens aged 18 or older of other European Union countries may decide to vote in France, registration is not compulsory, but the absence of registration precludes the possibility of voting. Currently, all reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered. Citizens may register either in their place of residence or in a place where they have been on the roll of taxpayers for local taxes for at least 5 years, a citizen may not be legally registered in more than one place. Citizens living abroad may register at the responsible for the region in which they live. Only citizens legally registered as voters can run for public office, there are exceptions to the above rules. Convicted criminals may be deprived of their rights, which include the right to vote. In particular, elected officials who have abused public funds may be deprived of the right to run for public office for as long as 10 years. The application of rules in the case of certain politicians has been controversial

107.
Foreign relations of France
–
Foreign relations France includes the governments external relations with other countries and international organizations since the end of the Middle Ages. France played the single most important role in European diplomacy and warfare before 1815, in the 19th century it built a colonial empire second only to the British Empire, but was humiliated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, which marked the rise of Germany to dominance in Europe. France was on the side of the First World War. Since 1945 France has been a member of the United Nations, of NATO. Its main ally since 1945 has been Germany, as a charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies. France is also a member of the Union for the Mediterranean. Under the long reigns of kings Louis XIV and Louis XV, France was second in size to Russia but first in terms of economic and it fought numerous expensive wars, usually to protect its voice in the selection of monarchs in neighboring countries. A high priority was blocking the growth of power of the Habsburg rivals who controlled Austria, warfare defined the foreign policies of Louis XIV, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, while his battlefield generals were not especially good, Louis XIV had excellent support staff. His chief engineer Vauban perfected the arts of fortifying French towns, the finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert dramatically improved the financial system so that it could support an army of 250,000 men. The system deteriorated under Louis XV so that wars drained the increasingly inefficient financial system, Louis XIV made France prouder in psychology but poorer in wealth, military glory and cultural splendor were exalted above economic growth. Under Louis XIV, France fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, Louis XV did merge Lorraine and Corsica into France. However France was badly defeated in the Seven Years War and forced to give up its holdings in North America and it ceded New France to Great Britain and Louisiana to Spain, and was left with a bitter grudge that sought revenge in 1778 by helping the Americans win independence. Norman Davies characterized Louis XVs reign as one of debilitating stagnation, characterized by lost wars, a few scholars defend Louis, arguing that his highly negative reputation was based on propaganda meant to justify the French Revolution. Jerome Blum described him as a perpetual adolescent called to do a mans job, France played a key role helping the American Patriots win their War of Independence against Britain 1775–1783. Motivated by a rivalry with Britain and by revenge for its territorial losses during Seven Years War

108.
Law of France
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In academic terms, French law can be divided into two main categories, private law and public law. This differs from the common law conception in which the main distinction is between Criminal law and Civil Law. Private law governs relationships between individuals and it includes, in particular, Civil law. This branch refers to the field of law in common law systems. This branch encompasses the fields of law, civil law, family law, property law. Commercial law Employment law Public law defines the structure and the workings of the government as well as relationships between the state and individuals, also, during the colonial era some Muslim-dominated societies began to blend the sharia legal system with the French legal system as represented in local law. As mentioned, the civil law in France refers to private law. The main body of statutes and laws governing civil law and procedure are set out in the Civil Code of France, other private law statutes are also located in other codes such as commercial code in the Code of Commerce, or copyright law in the Intellectual Property Code. However, a number of offenses, e. g. slander. Relationship between citizens and public authorities, in particular the participation of French citizens to the exercise of public powers and it fixes the hierarchy of laws and rules within the French legal system and the relationship between these different norms. In France, most claims against local or national governments are handled by the administrative courts, the main administrative courts are the tribunaux administratifs and cours administratives dappel for appeals. The French body of law is called droit administratif. The commission intended to create a dozen or so EU criminal offences, indeed, led by its then-Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs Franco Frattini - it insisted that the principle created in this decision applied to all policies, not just pollution policy. In May 2006, the Commission formally submitted to the EU Parliament, the Parliament began its consideration of the draft directive in March 2007. Introduction au droit ISBN 2-13-053181-4,127 pages One of the Que sais-je. series of pocketbook volumes, introduction to French law ISBN 1-85941-112-6. Principles of French law ISBN 0-19-876394-8, ISBN 0-19-876395-6, the French legal system 2nd ed. ISBN 0-421-53970-4. The French legal system 2nd ed. ISBN 0-406-90323-9, foreign law, current sources of codes and basic legislation in jurisdictions of the world v.24 cm. Series, AALL publications series 33, Contents v.1, ISBN 0-8377-0134-1, http, //www. foreignlawguide. com/ For both an overview and pointers toward further study, see the excellent introduction to the France section David, René

Law of France
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French system of Jurisdiction

109.
Law enforcement in France
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Law enforcement in France has a long history dating back to AD570, when night watch systems were commonplace. Policing is centralized at the national level, recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the police municipale. There are two police forces called Police nationale and Gendarmerie nationale. The Prefecture of Police of Paris provides policing services directly to Paris as a subdivision of Frances Ministry of the Interior, within these national forces only certain designated police officers have the power to conduct criminal investigations which are supervised by investigative magistrates. France has two police forces, The Police Nationale, formerly called the Sûreté, is considered a civilian police force. Its origins date back to 1812 and was created by Eugène François Vidocq, in 1966 its name was officially changed to Police Nationale. It has primary responsibility for cities and large urban areas. The Police Nationale are under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, the Gendarmerie Nationale is part of the French armed forces. It has the responsibility for policing smaller towns and rural areas, as well as the armed forces and military installations, airport security. Being a military force, the gendarmerie has a centralized organization structure. It is under the control of both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior, the Gendarmeries origin dates back to 1306 C. E. when King Philippe le Bel formed the first mounted military police force called the Maréchaussée. Between 1697 and 1699, King Louis XIV asserted his authority over police in France, in February 1791 it was renamed gendarmerie nationale by the revolutionary government of France. Today there are about 105000 gendarmes in France and they have special environment law enforcement and police power that ranges from pollution, hunting, fishing, forests products to nature protection. Its strength was roughly 10,000 in 2007, only counting the National Forests Office, the municipal policemen can notice all the breaches but cannot investigate. There are also local polices in the zones, as for the rural policemen the police rurale as such does not exist. Note the heterogeneousness of local polices both in means and in equipment, Police municipale are the local police of towns and cities in France. The French municipal police are under the authority of the mayor. The Police Nationale is responsible for Paris and other urban areas whereas the gendarmerie is responsible for small towns, the existence of two national police forces with similar goals and attributions, but somewhat different zones of activity, has at times created friction or competition between the two

Law enforcement in France
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Policemen with motorcycles and a car in Strasbourg.
Law enforcement in France
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Renault Mégane of the Douanes
Law enforcement in France
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Vehicle of the municipal police of Strasbourg
Law enforcement in France
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French gendarmes

110.
French Parliament
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The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a location in Paris, the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate. Each house has its own regulations and rules of procedure, however, they may occasionally meet as a single house, the French Congress, convened at the Palace of Versailles, to revise and amend the Constitution of France. Parliament meets for a single, nine-month session each year, under special circumstances the President can call an additional session. As a result, the government normally is from the political party as the Assembly. Rare periods during which the President is not from the political party as the Prime Minister are usually known as cohabitation. The President rather than the prime minister heads the Cabinet of Ministers, the government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its term to a text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced and passed. However, this procedure has been limited by the 2008 constitutional amendment, Legislative initiative rests with the National Assembly. Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity, both assemblies have committees that write reports on a variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power, however, the latter possibility is almost never exercised, since the majority can reject a proposition by the opposition to create an investigation commission. Since 2008, the opposition may impose the creation of a commission once a year. However, they still cant lead investigations if there is a judiciary case going on already, the word Parliament, in the modern meaning of the term, appeared in France in the 19th century, at the time of the constitutional monarchy of 1830–1848. It is never mentioned in any constitutional text until the Constitution of the 4th Republic in 1948, before that time reference was made to les Chambres or to each assembly, whatever its name, but never to a generic term as in Britain. Frank R. Baumgartner, Parliaments Capacity to Expand Political Controversy in France, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol.12,1, pp. 33–54 Marc Abélès, Un ethnologue à lAssemblée. An anthropological study of the French National Assembly, of its personnel, lawmakers, codes of behaviors, official website Site of the CHPP and of Parlement, Revue dhistoire politique

111.
Economy of France
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France has the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal figures and the tenth largest economy by PPP figures. It has the third-largest economy in Europe with Germany in 1st, the OECD is headquartered in Paris, the nations financial capital. The chemical industry is a key sector for France, helping to develop other manufacturing activities, Frances tourism industry is a major component of the economy, as France is the most visited destination in the world. Sophia Antipolis is the technology hub for the economy of France. According to the IMF, in 2013, France was the worlds 20th country by GDP per capita with $44,099 per inhabitant, in 2013, France was listed on the United Nationss Human Development Index with 0.884 and 25th on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Frances economy entered the recession of the late 2000s later and appeared to leave it earlier than most affected economies, with 31 of the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2015, France ranks 4th in the Fortune Global 500, behind the USA, China and Japan. Several French corporations rank amongst the largest in their industries such as AXA in insurance, luxury and consumer good are particularly relevant, with LOreal being the worlds largest cosmetic company while LVMH and PPR are the worlds two largest luxury product companies. France embarked on an ambitious and very successful programme of modernization under state coordination, the 1981 election of president François Mitterrand saw a short-lived increase in governmental control of the economy, nationalising many industries and private banks. This form of increased dirigisme, was criticised as early as 1982, by 1983, the government decided to renounce dirigisme and start an era of rigueur or corporatization. As a result, the government largely retreated from economic intervention, dirigisme has now essentially receded, the French economy grew and changed under government direction and planning much more than in other European countries. Labour conditions and wages are highly regulated, the government continues to own shares in corporations in a range of sectors, including banking, energy production and distribution, automobiles, transportation, and telecommunications. These differ from such as the US or UK where most of these companies have been privatized. In April and May 2012, France held an election in which the winner François Hollande had opposed austerity measures. French government bond interest rates fell 30% to record lows, less than 50 basis points above German government bond rates, the French government has run a budget deficit each year since the early 1970s. In mid-2012, French government debt levels reached €1,833 billion and this debt level was the equivalent of 91% of French GDP. In 2012 France was downgraded by ratings agencies Moodys, Standard&Poors, in December 2014 Frances credit rating was further downgraded by Fitch to the AA credit rating. Research and development spending is high in France at 2. 26% of GDP. Nuclear waste is stored on site at reprocessing facilities, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power, France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialized countries in the world

112.
Economic history of France
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This is a history of the economy of France. For more information on historical, cultural, demographic and sociological developments in France, for more information on specific political and governmental regimes in France, see the dynasty and regime articles. The collapse of the Roman Empire unlinked the French economy from Europe, Town life and trade declined and society became based on the self-sufficient manor. What limited international trade existed in the Merovingian age — primarily in luxury goods such as silk, papyrus, agricultural output began to increase in the Carolingian age as a result of the arrival of new crops, improvements in agricultural production, and good weather conditions. However, this did not lead to the revival of life, in fact, urban activity further declined in the Carolingian era as a result of civil war, Arab raids. When trade revived these centres became the nucleus of new towns and cities around which suburbs of merchants, the High Middle Ages saw a continuation of the agricultural boom of the Carolingian age. In addition, urban life grew during this period, towns such as Paris expanded dramatically, the 13 decades from 1335 to 1450 spawned a series of economic catastrophes, with bad harvests, famines, plagues and wars that overwhelmed four generations of Frenchmen. The population had expanded, making the supply more precarious. The bubonic plague hit Western Europe in 1347, killing a third of the population, royal authority weakened, as local nobles became strongmen fighting their neighbors for control of the local region. Frances population plunged from 17 million, down to 12 million in 130 years, finally, starting in the 1450s, a long cycle of recuperation began. The economy of Renaissance France was, for the first half-century, marked by a demographic growth and by developments in agriculture. Until 1795, France was the most populated country in Europe, with an estimated population of 17 million in 1400,20 million in the 17th century, and 28 million in 1789, its population exceeded even Russia and was twice the size of Britain and Holland. Paris was one of the most populated cities in Europe, with a population of 650,000 by the end of the 18th century. Agricultural production of a variety of food items expanded, olive oil, wine, cider, woad, the South grew artichokes, melons, romaine lettuce, eggplant, salsifys, celery, fennel, parsley, and alfalfa. After 1500 New World crops appeared such as beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, production techniques remained attached to medieval traditions and produced low yields. With the rapidly expanding population, additional land suitable for farming became scarce, the situation was made worse by repeated disastrous harvests in the 1550s. Industrial developments greatly affected printing and metallurgy, mines and glasswork benefited greatly from royal tax exemptions for a period of about twenty years. Silk production enabled the French to join a thriving market, wool production was widespread, as was the production of linen and of hemp

113.
Energy in France
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Energy in France describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in France. Électricité de France is the electricity generation and distribution company in France. It was founded on April 8,1946 as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors by the Communist Minister of Industrial Production Marcel Paul. Until November 19,2004 it was a government corporation, the French government partially floated shares of the company on the Paris Stock Exchange in November 2005, although it retains almost 85% ownership as of the end of 2007. EDF is one of the worlds largest producers of electricity, in 2003, it produced 22% of the European Unions electricity, primarily from nuclear power, nuclear,74. 5% hydro-electric,16. 3% thermal,9. 1% wind power and other renewable sources,0. The best performers were Switzerland, Sweden, and France, France should be a key driver for solar together with Italy during 2009-2010. Piper Jaffray believes that France would add 500 megawatts of capacity in both 2009 and 2010, France has 50 megawatts of solar power capacity now. Hydroelectric dams in France include Eguzon dam, Étang de Soulcem, for context,19. 5% of the countrys electricity was generated by renewable energy in 2014. Electricity sector in France Nuclear power in France Renewable energy in France

Energy in France
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Wind farm in France.

114.
Euro
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Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally,210 million people worldwide as of 2013 use currencies pegged to the euro, the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.8252 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.6038 on 18 July 2008. In July 2012, the euro fell below US$1.21 for the first time in two years, following concerns raised over Greek debt and Spains troubled banking sector, as of 26 March 2017, the euro–dollar exchange rate stands at ~ US$1.07. The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, as an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all states. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, all nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 5 January 2002, the central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show which central bank issued them, Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECBs banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs and these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The euro is divided into 100 cents, in Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a side showing the denomination or value. Due to the plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the Union like Norway

Euro
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The central bank has its seat in Frankfurt (Germany) and is in charge of the monetary policy of the euro area.
Euro
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Euro banknotes as of 2015
Euro
–
Euro coins and banknotes of various denominations.

115.
French franc
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The franc, also commonly distinguished as the French franc, was a currency of France. Between 1450 and 1999, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it was revalued in 1960, with each new franc being worth 100 old francs. The French franc was a commonly held reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first franc was a gold coin introduced in 1360 to pay the Ransom of King John II of France and this coin secured the kings freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval. The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives the title as Francorum Rex. Its value was set as one livre tournois, john’s son, Charles V, continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval. John II, however, was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom, John II died as a prisoner in England and his son, Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage, an edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centerpiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d’or aux fleurs de lis which had a standing figure of the king on its obverse. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval, in accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicolas Oresme, Charles struck fewer coins of better gold than his predecessors. In the accompanying deflation both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed, the Mayor of Paris, Etienne Marcel, exploited their discontent to lead a revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc and this coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII of France replaced it with the silver Écu. Nevertheless, the franc continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois. The decimal franc was established as the currency by the French Revolutionary Convention in 1795 as a decimal unit of 4.5 g of fine silver. This was slightly less than the livre of 4.505 g, silver coins now had their denomination clearly marked as “5 FRANCS” and it was made obligatory to quote prices in francs. e. Coinage with explicit denominations in decimal fractions of the franc also began in 1795, decimalization of the franc was mandated by an act of 7 April 1795, which also dealt with of weights and measures. France’s first decimal coinage used allegorical figures symbolizing revolutionary principles, like the designs the United States had adopted in 1793

French franc
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Franc à cheval
French franc
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Franc à pied
French franc
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1795 five centimes, the first year of decimal fractions for the franc.
French franc
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1799 two-decimes essai coin

116.
Euronext Paris
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It operates the MATIF futures exchange, which trades futures and options on interest rate products and commodities, and MONEP, equity and index futures and options. All products are traded electronically on the NSC system adopted by all of the Euronext members, trading hours are 9 am to 5,30 pm CET, Monday to Friday. The French equities market is divided into three sections, the Premier Marché, formerly called the Official List, includes large French and foreign companies, and most Bond issues. The Second Marché, lists medium-sized companies, while nouveau marché lists fast-growing start up companies seeking capital to finance expansion, linked to Euro. nm, the European equity growth market. A fourth market, Marché Libre, is nonregulated, administered by Euronext Paris for transactions in securities not listed on the three markets. Euronext Paris calculates a family of indices, the CAC40 is the exchanges benchmark, desseminated in real time. Its components are included in the broader SBF120 Index, a benchmark for investment funds, the SBF250 index, a benchmark for the long-term performance of equity portfolios, includes all of the SBF120, it is structured by sector. Both indices are benchmarks for funds, the Nouveau Marché Index represents stocks in the growth market. The SBF-FCI index is based on a selection of bonds that represent at least 70% of the total capitalization of this market. For derivatives, MONEP trades short-term and long-term stock options and futures, for the fiscal year ending December 2004, Euronext Paris recorded sales of US $522 million, a −12. 9% decrease in sales from 2003. Euronext Paris has a US $2.9 trillion total market capitalization of listed companies, List of French companies CAC40 CAC Next 20 French Society of Financial Analysts Euronext Paris website MONEP website

Euronext Paris

117.
Crime in France
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Crime in France is combated by a range of French law enforcement agencies. In 2012, France had a rate of 1.0 per 100,000 population. Which is typical of Europe and about one fifth that in the United States, there were a total of 665 murders in France in 2012. In 1971, the rate stood at 2.0 per 100,000 people. In 2009, it stood at 16.2, some of the increase is likely due to better reporting. According to a 2012 report, about 75,000 rapes take place each year, according to a 2014 article, about 5,000 to 7,000 of the rapes are gang rapes. The Milieu is a category of organized criminals operating in France and these groups are quite often not ethnically French. Criminal groups associated with the Milieu work in major city in France, but are mostly concentrated in Marseille, Grenoble, Paris. In 2011, Transparency International concluded in its report for 2011 that France does not do enough to stop corruption. A TNS Sofres poll in October 2011 indicated that 72% of the French public had the perception that politicians are corrupt, in August 2012 the French Government announced the creation of fifteen Priority Security Zones in an effort to target crime hotspots. Extra police, riot police, detectives and members of the services are to be mobilised. Social services, educational bodies and charities also put resources into the selected areas. Violent crime is relatively uncommon in the city center, pickpockets are the most significant problem and are commonly children under the age of 16 because they are difficult to prosecute. Pickpockets are very active on the link from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city center. You can also dial the Europe-wide emergency response number 112 to reach an operator for all kinds of emergency services, non-French speakers may experience a delay while an English speaker is located. In 2010, French interior minister Brice Hortefeux said that 85% of gang members in France were around Paris, in 2014, Thousands of demonstrators protested the Israeli-Gaza Conflict for over a week. During several instances rioters shouted anti-Semitic chants and attacked Jews while ransacking Jewish Synagogues, large demonstrations in Paris are generally managed by a strong police presence, but such events have the potential to become dangerous and should be avoided. In addition, the caused by large demonstrations can cause serious inconveniences for a visitor on a tight schedule

118.
Demographics of France
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The demography of France is monitored by the Institut national détudes démographiques and the Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques. As of the 1 January 2017, almost 67 million people lived in the French Republic, including all the five overseas departments,64,859,000 of these lived in Metropolitan France, the part of France located in Europe. In March 2017 the population of France officially reached the 67 million mark, the 66 million mark was reached in the beginning of 2014. The population of France is growing with 1 million people every 3 years, for an average annual growth of 340,000 people, or a grow rate of +0, 6%. France was historically Europes most populous nation, during the Middle Ages, more than one quarter of Europes total population was French, by the 17th century, this had decreased slightly to one fifth. By the beginning of the 20th century, other European nations, such as Germany and Russia, had caught up with, however, the countrys population sharply increased with the baby boom following World War II. According to INSEE, since 2004,200,000 immigrants entered annually into the country, one out of two was born in Europe and one in three in Africa. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of Europeans entering France increased sharply, the national birth rate, after dropping for a time, began to rebound in the 1990s and currently the countrys fertility rate is close to the replacement level. According to a 2006 INSEE study, The natural increase is close to 300,000 people, a level that has not been reached in more than thirty years. Among the 802,000 newborns in metropolitan France in 2010,80. 1% had two French parents,13. 3% had one French parent, and 6. 6% had two non-French parents. For the same year,27. 3% of newborns in metropolitan France had at least one parent and 23. 9% had at least one parent born outside of Europe. Between 2006 and 2008, about 40% of newborns in France had one foreign-born grandparent, racial and ethnic censuses have been banned by the French government since 1978, since the term race in France invokes associations with Nazi Germany. France was historically the largest nation in Europe, during the Middle Ages more than one quarter of Europes population was French, by the 17th century it was still one fifth. Starting around 1800, the evolution of the population in France has been atypical in Europe. Unlike the rest of Europe, there was no population growth in France in the 19th. The birth rate in France diminished much earlier than in the rest of Europe, the slow growth of Frances population in the 19th century was reflected in the countrys very low emigration rate. The French population only grew by 8. 6% between 1871 and 1911, while Germanys grew by 60% and Britains by 54%, ferdinand Foch joked that the only way for France to permanently improve its relationship with Germany was to castrate 20 million Germans. If Frances population had grown at the rate as that of England

Demographics of France
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With a total fertility rate of 2.01 (in 2012), France is the most fertile country in the European Union, similar to the Republic of Ireland.
Demographics of France
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Two centuries of population growth

119.
Education in France
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The French educational system is highly centralized and organized, with many subdivisions. It is divided into the three stages of enseignement primaire, enseignement secondaire, and enseignement supérieur, in French higher education, the following degrees are recognized by the Bologna Process, Licence and Licence Professionnelle, and the comparably named Master and Doctorat degrees. While the French trace the development of their system to Napoléon. Jules Ferry, a Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is credited for creating the modern school by requiring all children between the ages of 6 and 12, both boys and girls, to attend. He also made public instruction mandatory, free of charge, with these laws, known as French Lubbers, Jules Ferry laws, and several others, the Third Republic repealed most of the Falloux Laws of 1850–1851, which gave an important role to the clergy. All educational programmes in France are regulated by the Ministry of National Education, the head of the ministry is the Minister of National Education. The teachers in primary and secondary schools are all state civil servants. Professors and researchers in Frances universities are also employed by the state, at the primary and secondary levels, the curriculum is the same for all French students in any given grade, which includes public, semi-public and subsidised institutions. However, there exist specialised sections and a variety of options that students can choose, the reference for all French educators is the Bulletin officiel de léducation nationale, de lenseignement supérieur et de la recherche which lists all current programmes and teaching directives. It is amended many times every year, in the Metropolitan territory, the school year extends from early September to early July. The school calendar is standardized throughout the country, and is the domain of the ministry. In May schools need time to organise the exams, in the overseas departments and territories of France, the school calendar is set by the local recteur. Schooling in France is mandatory from age 6, the first year of primary school, most parents start sending their children at age 3, at kindergarten classes, which are usually affiliated to a boroughs primary school. Some even start earlier at age 2 in pré-maternelle or très petite section classes, the last year of kindergarten, grande section is an important step in the educational process, as it is the year in which pupils are introduced to reading. After kindergarten, the students move on to primary school. It is in the first year that they learn to write. Note that the French word for a teacher at the school level is maître or its feminine form maîtresse. Pupils are prepared for the baccalauréat, the baccalauréat can lead to higher education studies or directly to professional life

Education in France
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Jules Ferry
Education in France
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School system in France

120.
French people
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The French are an ethnic group and nation who are identified with the country of France. This connection may be legal, historical, or cultural, modern French society can be considered a melting pot. To be French, according to the first article of the French Constitution, is to be a citizen of France, regardless of origin, race. The debate concerning the integration of this view with the underlying the European Community remains open. A large number of foreigners have traditionally been permitted to live in France, indeed, the country has long valued its openness, tolerance and the quality of services available. Application for French citizenship is often interpreted as a renunciation of previous state allegiance unless a dual citizenship agreement exists between the two countries, the European treaties have formally permitted movement and European citizens enjoy formal rights to employment in the state sector. Seeing itself as a nation with universal values, France has always valued. However, the success of such assimilation has recently called into question. There is increasing dissatisfaction with, and within, growing ethno-cultural enclaves, the 2005 French riots in some troubled and impoverished suburbs were an example of such tensions. However they should not be interpreted as ethnic conflicts but as social conflicts born out of socioeconomic problems endangering proper integration, the name France etymologically derives from the word Francia, the territory of the Franks. The Franks were a Germanic tribe that overran Roman Gaul at the end of the Roman Empire, in the pre-Roman era, all of Gaul was inhabited by a variety of peoples who were known collectively as the Gaulish tribes. Gaul was militarily conquered in 58-51 BCE by the Roman legions under the command of General Julius Caesar, the area then became part of the Roman Empire. Over the next five centuries the two cultures intermingled, creating a hybridized Gallo-Roman culture, the Gaulish vernacular language disappeared step by step to be replaced everywhere by Vulgar Latin, which would later develop under Frankish influence into the French language in the North of France. With the decline of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, a federation of Germanic peoples entered the picture, the Franks were Germanic pagans who began to settle in northern Gaul as laeti, already during the Roman era. They continued to filter across the Rhine River from present-day Netherlands, at the beginning, they served in the Roman army and reached high commands. Their language is spoken as a kind of Dutch in northern France. Another Germanic people immigrated massively to Alsace, the Alamans, which explains the Alemannic German spoken there and they were competitors of the Franks, thats why it became at the Renaissance time the word for German in French, Allemand. By the early 6th century the Franks, led by the Merovingian king Clovis I and his sons, had consolidated their hold on much of modern-day France, the Vikings eventually intermarried with the local people, converting to Christianity in the process

121.
Poverty in France
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Poverty in France has fallen by 60% over thirty years. Although it affected 15% of the population in 1970, in 2001 only 6. 1% were below the poverty line, other national estimates at the time were 13%, 11%, 8%, 5%, and 3. 5%. A two-parent family with four dependent children on 66% of average earnings gained an amount after tax, according to one estimate from the early Seventies, using 1500 francs net per month for those in full-time employment 44% of women and 24. 5% of men were low paid. The percentage of workers who were low paid was particularly high in personal services such as hairdressing, hotel and catering and textiles. In comparison with average French workers, foreign workers tended to be employed in the hardest and lowest-paid jobs and live in poor conditions. ”Studies by Serge Milano, Lionel Stoleru, and Rene Lenoir estimated that between 10% and 14% of the population lived in poverty from 1970 to 1980. A report by the EEC estimated that 14. 8% of households in France lived in poverty in 1975, in 1987, it was estimated that 2 million people in France lived in extreme poverty. Previously, the poor were for the most part retirees, various social welfare programs have had an important impact in low-income households, and in 2002, they may in some cases have represented more than 50% of the households income. In 2008, the OECD claimed that France was only one of five countries in the OECD where income inequality and poverty had declined over the past 20 years. Such camps are becoming a common occurrence in Northern France, along the coast of La Manche. The Calais Jungle is perhaps the best known example of this, poverty threshold was fixed at 645 euros per person per month. By comparison, the revenu minimum dinsertion was at that time 440.86 euros per month for a living alone. However, it is difficult to them as they are not calculated in the same way. While the French poverty threshold is calculated as being half of the median income, the risk of exposure to lead today is four times greater for buildings constructed before 1915 than for a building constructed between 1915 and 1948. 200,000 students were in financial situations, which has led some young women to pay for their studies through prostitution. This phenomenon is on the rise in the country, nevertheless, social services allow France to have one of the lowest child mortality rates despite this poverty. This phenomenon is explained by the lower cost of rural living compared with that in cities. Another indicator of poverty is the RMI, in 1994, in metropolitan France, the number of RMI recipients was 783,436, ten years later, it rose to 1,041,026. In the overseas departments, it was 105,033 at the end of 1994 and 152,892 in June 2004, by 31 December 2005, the figure stood at 1,112,400

Poverty in France
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A homeless man in Paris.

122.
Religion in France
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France is a country where freedom of religion and freedom of thought are guaranteed by virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The Republic is based on the principle of laïcité enforced by the 1880s Jules Ferry laws and the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches, while millions in France continue to attend religious services regularly, the overall level of observance is considerably lower than in the past. This makes France one of the more atheistic countries in the world, France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right and the government generally respects this right in practice. Catholicism is the religion in France. During the Ancien Régime, France had traditionally considered the Churchs eldest daughter. This led to conflicts, in particular during the Reformation between Catholics and Huguenots. A strong Protestant population resided in France, primarily of Reformed confession and it was persecuted by the state for most of the time, with temporary periods of relative toleration. These wars continued throughout the 16th century, with the 1572 St. Bartholomews Day massacre as its apex, for the first time, Huguenots were considered by the state as more than mere schismatics and heretics. The Edict of Nantes thus opened a path for secularism and tolerance, Religious conflicts resumed in the end of the 17th century, when Louis XIV, the Sun King, initiated the persecution of Huguenots by introducing the dragonnades in 1681. These wave of violence intimidated the Protestants into converting to Catholicism and he made this policy official with the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes. On 17 January 1686, Louis XIV himself claimed that out of a Huguenot population of 800,000 to 900,000, a Camisard rebellion broke out in 1702 in the Cevennes mountains. The experiment of religious toleration in Europe was effectively ended for the time being, in practice, the revocation caused France to suffer a brain drain, as it lost a large number of skilled craftsmen, including key designers such as Daniel Marot. Some rulers, such as Frederick Wilhelm of Brandenburg, who issued the Edict of Potsdam, encouraged the Protestants to flee, during the French Revolution, the Catholic Church lost its power and influence. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, passed in 1790, put the Catholic Church under state control, while the clergy was persecuted by the commune of Paris and some of the representatives on mission, new religions and philosophies were allowed to compete with Catholicism. Following the Thermidorian Reaction the persecutions ceased but the schism between the French government and the Catholic Church wouldnt end until the Concordat of 1801 by Napoleon. After the Bourbon Restoration and the coming to power of the Ultra-royalists in the Chambre introuvable, under Villèles ultra-royalist government, the Chamber voted in the extreme 1830 Anti-Sacrilege Act. A1905 law instituted the separation of Church and State and prohibited the government from recognising, salarying or subsidising any religion, however the Briand-Ceretti Agreement subsequently restored for a while a formal role for the state in the appointment of Catholic bishops. For similar historical reasons, Catholic priests in French Guiana are civil servants of the local government, Religious buildings built prior to 1905 at taxpayers expense are retained by the local or national government, and may be used at no expense by religious organizations

123.
Social protection in France
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This article is about the social protection system in France. For details about the institution dealing with the French public insurance system, Welfare in France includes all systems whose purpose is to protect people against the financial consequences of social risks. Social welfare refers to all the mechanisms of collective foresight, enabling individuals to cope with the consequences of social risks. These are situations that could jeopardize the security of the individual or his family. In France, the system make up for about 500 billion euros annually. The origin of social protection in France dates back to medieval times, in the second half of the nineteenth century, systems of social assistance developed gradually, often launched by employers marked by social Catholicism, then relayed by the first laws. In 1930, modern social insurance was created, offering protection against certain risks, accidents, sickness, disability, maternity, old age. During the Second World War, the National Council of Resistance designed the system of social security and it was created just after the Liberation, by an order of 4 October 1945, followed by other texts. Gradually, protection has covered the entire population, while the benefits extend, when creating Social Security, France imitated more the Bismarckian system than the Beveridge one. Over the years, the solidarity has gradually developed in the French system, however, the desire to establish a universal system has faced opposition. This explains why the French welfare system is plural, with a variety of actors. The most important is the scheme for employees of industry, commerce. The French social protection system is gradually becoming universal, covering all individuals, at its origins, social protection has been built as a system of social insurance. Insurance was tied to the exercise of an occupation and the benefits were provided in case of the risk of loss of income due to the forced inactivity and it only covered workers and their families. The right to social benefits depended on the payment of social security contributions, non-employees, or individuals who have not contributed during their occupation, were entitled to welfare, reserved for cases of extreme distress. Since its creation on October 4,1945, Social Security administrations has had the objective of gradually extending social protection to all residents of the territory. Each member of the community has now the right to benefit a minimum standard of living, whether exercising a profession. Indeed, the 22 August 1946 law extended the family allowances to the entire population, in addition, the social minima, benefits ensuring a minimum income to a person in an insecure situation, offer anyone a minimum of resources to fight against the risk of social exclusion

Social protection in France
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A building of the Sécurité Sociale at Rennes

124.
Culture of France
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The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of culture since the 17th century, first in Europe. From the late 19th century, France has also played an important role in cinema, fashion, cuisine, the importance of French culture has waxed and waned over the centuries, depending on its economic, political and military importance. French culture today is marked both by regional and socioeconomic differences and strong unifying tendencies. Some action has taken by the government in order to promote French culture. For instance, they have established a system of subsidies and preferential loans for supporting French cinema, the Toubon law, from the name of the conservative culture minister who promoted it, makes it mandatory to use French in advertisements directed to the general public. France counts many regional languages, some of them being different from standard French, such as Breton. Some regional languages are Roman, like French, such as Occitan, many of these languages have enthusiastic advocates, however, the real importance of local languages remains subject to debate. In April 2001, the Minister of Education, Jack Lang and he announced that bilingual education would, for the first time, be recognized, and bilingual teachers recruited in French public schools to support teaching these other languages. In French schools, pupils are expected to learn at least two languages, the first of which is typically German or English. A revision of the French constitution creating official recognition of languages was implemented by the Parliament in Congress at Versailles in July 2008. France is a country where freedom of thought and of religion is preserved, by virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man. A2011 European poll found that a third of the French population does not believe there is any sort of spirit, in 2011, in a poll published by Institut français dopinion publique 65% of the French population describes itself as Christians, and 25% as not adhering any religion. According to Eurobarometer poll in 2012 Christianity is the largest religion in France accounting 60% of French citizens, Catholics are the largest Christian group in France, accounting for 50% of French citizens, while Protestants make up 8%, and other Christians make up 2%. Non believer/Agnostic account for 20%, Atheist 13%, and Muslim 6%, France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right, and the government generally respects this right in practice. A long history of violent conflict between groups led the state to break its ties to the established Catholic Church early in the last century, the government adopted a strong commitment to maintaining a totally secular public sector. Long the established religion, the Roman Catholic Church has historically played a significant role in French culture. Kings were considered head of the church and state, most French people are Roman Catholic Christians, however, many of them are secular but still place high value on Catholicism

125.
Cinema of France
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Cinema of France refers to the film industry based in France. The French cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad, France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its significant contributions to the art form and the film-making process itself. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, began in the country and it is noted for having a particularly strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the French government. Apart from its strong and innovative film tradition, France has also been a spot for artists from across Europe. For this reason, French cinema is sometimes intertwined with the cinema of foreign nations, Directors from nations such as Poland, Argentina, Russia, Austria, and Georgia are prominent in the ranks of French cinema. Conversely, French directors have had prolific and influential careers in countries, such as Luc Besson, Jacques Tourneur. Philippe Binant realized, on 2 February 2000, the first digital cinema projection in Europe, with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments, in Paris. With 205.34 million tickets sold in 2015 and 212.71 million in 2016 and it is the most successful film industry in Europe in terms of number of films produced per annum, with a record-breaking 300 feature-length films produced in 2015. France is also one of the few countries where non-American productions have the biggest share and this is largely due to the commercial strength of domestic productions, which accounted for 44, 5% of admissions in 2014. Also, the French film industry is closer to being entirely self-sufficient than any country in Europe. In 2013, France was the 2nd largest exporter of films in the world after the United States, a study made in April 2014 shows the excellent image which French cinema maintains around the world, being the most appreciated cinema after American cinema. Les frères Lumière realized the first projection with the Cinematograph, in Paris on 28 December 1895, the French film industry in the late 19th century and early 20th century was among the worlds most important. Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the cinématographe and their LArrivée dun train en gare de La Ciotat in Paris in 1895 is considered by historians as the official birth of cinematography. The early days of the industry, from 1896 to 1902, saw the dominance of four firms, Pathé Frères, the Gaumont Film Company, the Georges Méliès company, and the Lumières. Méliès invented many of the techniques of cinematic grammar, and among his fantastic, in 1902 the Lumières abandoned everything but the production of film stock, leaving Méliès as the weakest player of the remaining three. From 1904 to 1911 the Pathé Frères company led the world in production and distribution. At Gaumont, pioneer Alice Guy-Blaché was made head of production and oversaw about 400 films, from her first, La Fée aux Choux, in 1896 and she then continued her career in the United States, as did Maurice Tourneur and Léonce Perret after World War I. After World War I, the French film industry suffered because of a lack of capital, when film studios in Europe began to fail, many European countries began to set import barriers

126.
French comedy films
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French comedy films are comedy films produced in France. Comedy is also the most popular French genre in cinema, comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films, roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humour of many of these silent films relied on slapstick, a very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener by the Lumière brothers. In his native France and throughout the world, Max Linder was a comic feature. Later, when the sound came in 1927, Comedy films took another swing, due to laughter can now be caused not only by the burlesque situations, but also the dialogues. Always a favorite of the public, as well as acclaimed, some were the subject of remakes in other countries and have had great success worldwide, sometimes rewarded with prizes. French comedy films are often social comedies. That is a big difference compared to American comedies, during the Middle Ages, the theater plays in the street, in the form of mystery plays, fabliaux, farces, soties and mimes. Some of these types are more or less inspired by antique survivals genres like Atellan, in France in the 17th century under Louis XIV, the Italian influence and Molière are recognizing the comedy theater as an art in itself and not as a subgenre compared to the tragedy. From the 18th to the 19th century, comedy would go to incorporate opera, Comedy would also go to create the Operetta in the middle of the 19th century. In the beginning of the 20th century, operettas were transformed into musical theatre, Bourvil and Fernandel started as operetta singers, Louis de Funès, started as a music-hall pianist. In 1892, before cinema was created, Émile Reynaud realized several Comedy Cartoons, comic films began to appear in significant numbers during the era of silent films, roughly 1895 to 1930. The visual humour of many of these silent films relied on slapstick, a very early comedy short was Watering the Gardener by the Lumière brothers. In his native France and throughout the world, Max Linder was a comic feature. Georges Méliès, from theatre, created the first studio de cinéma and he also created a lot of silent comedies in which a lot will be destroyed later. He would have an homage in 2011 with the movie Hugo, when the sound came in 1927, Comedy films took another swing, due to laughter can now be caused not only by the burlesque situations, but also the dialogues. In the 1930s, French comedies talked about farmers and villages, the theme of countryside associated to medecine occurs in the film Dr. Knock of 1933, based on the novel Knock by Jules Romains. In this film, Louis Jouvet plays the character Dr. Knock, in A Cage of Nightingales of 1945, a teacher has to face difficult teens

127.
French cuisine
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French cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from France. In the 14th century Guillaume Tirel, a chef known as Taillevent, wrote Le Viandier. During that time, French cuisine was influenced by Italian cuisine. Cheese and wine are a part of the cuisine. They play different roles regionally and nationally, with many variations, gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country, knowledge of French cooking has contributed significantly to Western cuisines. Its criteria are used widely in Western cookery school boards and culinary education, in November 2010, French gastronomy was added by the UNESCO to its lists of the worlds intangible cultural heritage. In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy, multiple courses would be prepared, but served in a style called service en confusion, or all at once. Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off in large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers, the sauces were highly seasoned and thick, and heavily flavored mustards were used. Meals often ended with an issue de table, which changed into the modern dessert. The ingredients of the time varied according to the seasons and the church calendar, and many items were preserved with salt, spices, honey. Late spring, summer, and autumn afforded abundance, while winter meals were more sparse, livestock were slaughtered at the beginning of winter. Beef was often salted, while pork was salted and smoked, bacon and sausages would be smoked in the chimney, while the tongue and hams were brined and dried. Cucumbers were brined as well, while greens would be packed in jars with salt, fruits, nuts and root vegetables would be boiled in honey for preservation. Whale, dolphin and porpoise were considered fish, so during Lent, artificial freshwater ponds held carp, pike, tench, bream, eel, and other fish. Poultry was kept in yards, with pigeon and squab being reserved for the elite. Game was highly prized, but very rare, and included venison, wild boar, hare, rabbit, kitchen gardens provided herbs, including some, such as tansy, rue, pennyroyal, and hyssop, which are rarely used today

128.
Languages of France
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The languages of France include the French language and some regional languages. The French language is the official language of France according to the second article of the French Constitution. Several regional languages are spoken to varying degrees as a secondary language after French, such as German dialects, Celtic languages. Some of these languages have also spoken in neighbouring countries, such as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland. The official language of the French Republic is French and the French government is, by law, the government, furthermore, mandates that commercial advertising be available in French, see Toubon Law. The French government, however, does not mandate the use of French by private individuals or corporations or in any other media, a revision of the French constitution creating official recognition of regional languages was implemented by the Parliament in Congress at Versailles in July 2008. 24 of those languages are indigenous to the European territory of the state all the others are from overseas areas of the French Republic. The category of languages of France is thus administratively recognised even if this does not go so far as to any official status. Following his election as President, François Hollande reasserted in 2012 his campaign platform to ratify the European Charter, the regional languages of France are sometimes called patois, but this term is often considered derogatory. The topic of the teaching of languages in public primary and secondary schools is controversial. Proponents of the state that it would be necessary for the preservation of those languages. Opponents contend that local languages are often non-standardised, of practical usefulness. The topic also leads to wider questions of autonomy of the régions. Regarding other languages, English, Spanish, Italian and German are the most commonly studied languages in French schools. Some of the languages of France are also languages, some of which enjoy a recognised or official status in the respective neighbouring state or territory. French itself is also a language, being spoken in neighbouring Andorra, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco. A large number of immigrant languages are spoken in France, with a handful having a significant number of home speakers, berber the language of North Africans is one of the most spoken languages in France, about 2,200,000 speakers. Maghrebi Arabic, is the most common language in French homes

129.
French literature
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This article is a general introduction to French literature. For detailed information on French literature in specific periods, see the separate historical articles in the template to the right. Literature written in French language, by citizens of nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco. As of 2006, French writers have been awarded more Nobel Prizes in Literature than novelists, poets and essayists of any other country, France itself ranks first in the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country. French literature has been for French people an object of pride for centuries. The French language is a dialect derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally by Celtic. Today, French schools emphasize the study of novels, theater, the literary arts are heavily sponsored by the state and literary prizes are major news. The Académie française and the Institut de France are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France, Literature matters deeply to the people of France and plays an important role in their sense of identity. As of 2006, French literary people have been awarded more Nobel Prizes in Literature than novelists, poets and essayists of any other country, a writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form. For most of the 20th century, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation. M. G, le Clézio 2014 – Patrick Modiano Grand Prix de Littérature Policière – created in 1948, for crime and detective fiction. Grand Prix du roman de lAcadémie française – created 1918, Prix Décembre – created in 1989. Prix Femina – created 1904, decided each year by an exclusively female jury, Prix Goncourt – created 1903, given to the author of the best and most imaginative prose work of the year. Prix Goncourt des Lycéens – created in 1987, Prix Littéraire Valery Larbaud – created in 1957. Prix Médicis – created 1958, awarded to an author whose fame does not yet match their talent, Prix Renaudot – created in 1926. Prix Tour-Apollo Award – 1972–1990, given to the best science fiction published in French during the preceding year. Prix des Deux Magots – created in 1933, a short history of French literature Burgwinkle, William, Nicholas Hammond, and Emma Wilson, eds. The Cambridge history of French literature Cobb, Richard, Promenades, an appreciation of modern French literature Harvey, Paul. The Oxford companion to French literature Denis Hollier, ed, a New History of French Literature, Harvard University Press,1989,1150 pp. France, Peter

130.
Theatre of France
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Most historians place the origin of medieval drama in the churchs liturgical dialogues and tropes. In the 12th century one finds the earliest extant passages in French appearing as refrains inserted into liturgical dramas in Latin, such as a Saint Nicholas play, public performances were tightly controlled by a guild system. Another guild, the Enfants Sans-Souci was in charge of farces and soties, like the Confrères de la Passion, la Basoche came under political scrutiny, and they were finally suppressed in 1582. In 1597, they abandoned this privilege, alongside the numerous writers of these traditional works, Marguerite de Navarre also wrote a number of plays close to the traditional mystery and morality play. From 1550 on, one finds humanist theatre written in French, the influence of Seneca was particularly strong in humanist tragedy. The plots often had clear parallels to political and religious matters. Horace was translated in the 1540s, but had been throughout the Middle Ages. The fourth century grammarians Diomedes and Aelius Donatus were also a source of classical theory, the sixteenth century Italians played a central role in the publishing and interpretation of classical dramatic theory, and their works had a major effect on French theatre. Lodovico Castelvetros Aristote-based Art of Poetry was one of the first enunciations of the three unities, this work would inform Jean de la Tailles Art de la tragedie, Italian theatre and debates on decorum would also influence the French tradition. The Tragicomedy — a theatrical version of the novel, with lovers, knights, disguises. The most famous of these is Robert Garniers Bradamante, adapted from Ariostos Orlando furioso, the Pastoral — modeled on Giambattista Guarinis Pastor fido, Tassos Aminta and Antonio Ongaro Alceo. The first French pastorals were short plays performed before a tragedy, nicolas de Montreux wrote three pastorals, Athlette, Diane Arimène ou le berger désespéré. The Ballets de cour — an allegorical and fantastic mixture of dance, the most famous of these is the Ballet comique de la reine. By the end of the century, the most influential French playwright — by the range of his styles, all of these eclectic traditions would continue to evolve in the baroque theatre of the early 17th century, before French classicism would finally impose itself. In 1597, this guild abandoned its privilege which permitted other theatres, in addition to public theatres, plays were produced in private residences, before the court and in the university. In the first half of the century, the public, the humanist theatre of the colleges, for example, while the tragicomedy was fashionable at the court in the first decade, the public was more interested in tragedy. The early theatres in Paris were often placed in existing structures like tennis courts, their stages were extremely narrow, eventually, theatres would develop systems of elaborate machines and decors, fashionable for the chevaleresque flights of knights found in the tragicomedies of the first half of the century. In the early part of the century, the performances took place twice a week starting at two or three oclock

131.
Richard II (play)
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King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in approximately 1595. Although the First Folio edition of Shakespeares works lists the play as a history play, the play spans only the last two years of Richards life, from 1398 to 1400. Bolingbrokes father, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, meanwhile, the tournament scene is very formal with a long, ceremonial introduction, but as the combatants are about to fight, Richard interrupts and sentences both to banishment from England. Bolingbroke is originally sentenced to ten years banishment, but Richard changes this to six years, Mowbray predicts that the king will sooner or later fall at the hands of Bolingbroke. John of Gaunt dies and Richard II seizes all of his land and they then help Bolingbroke to return secretly to England, with a plan to overthrow Richard II. There remain, however, subjects who continue faithful to the King, among them Bushy, Bagot, Green, when King Richard leaves England to attend to the war in Ireland, Bolingbroke seizes the opportunity to assemble an army and invades the north coast of England. Executing both Bushy and Green, he wins over the Duke of York, whom Richard has left in charge of his government in his absence, upon Richards return, Bolingbroke not only reclaims his lands but lays claim to the very throne. Crowning himself King Henry IV, he has Richard taken prisoner to the castle of Pomfret, after interpreting King Henrys living fear as a reference to the still-living Richard, an ambitious nobleman goes to the prison and murders him. King Henry repudiates the murderer and vows to journey to Jerusalem to cleanse himself of his part in Richards death, a somewhat more complicated case is presented by the anonymous play sometimes known as The First Part of Richard II. This play, which exists in one manuscript copy is subtitled Thomas of Woodstock. This play treats the leading up to the start of Shakespeares play. The play was entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 29 August 1597 by the bookseller Andrew Wise, the second and third quartos followed in 1598 – the only time a Shakespearean play was printed in three editions in two years. Q4 followed in 1608, and Q5 in 1615, the play was next published in the First Folio in 1623. Richard II exists in a number of variations, the quartos vary to some degree from one another, and the folio presents further differences. The first three quartos lack the deposition scene, the fourth quarto, published in 1608, includes a version of the deposition scene shorter than the one later printed, presumably from a prompt-book, in the 1623 First Folio. The scant evidence makes explaining these differences largely conjectural, there is no external evidence for this hypothesis, however, and the title page of the 1608 quarto refers to a lately acted deposition scene. The play is divided into five acts and its structure is as formal as its language and it has a double complementary plot describing the fall of Richard II and the rise of Bolingbroke, later known as Henry IV. Critic John R. Elliott Jr. notes that this particular play can be distinguished from the other history plays because it contains an ulterior political purpose

Richard II (play)
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The first page of Richard II, printed in the First Folio of 1623
Richard II (play)
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A watercolor of Richard II in prison at Pomfret Castle.
Richard II (play)
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The 1587 edition of Holinshed 's Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande
Richard II (play)
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The title page from the 1608 quarto edition of the play.

132.
Henry IV, Part 2
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Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1. Several scenes specifically parallel episodes in Part 1, the play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hals journey toward kingship, and his rejection of Falstaff. However, unlike Part One, Hals and Falstaffs stories are almost entirely separate, the tone of much of the play is elegiac, focusing on Falstaffs age and his closeness to death, which parallels that of the increasingly sick king. Falstaff is still drinking and engaging in petty criminality in the London underworld and he first appears, followed by a new character, a young page whom Prince Hal has assigned him as a joke. Falstaff enquires what the doctor has said about the analysis of his urine, Falstaff delivers one of his most characteristic lines, I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men. Falstaff promises to outfit the page in vile apparel and he then complains of his insolvency, blaming it on consumption of the purse. They go off, Falstaff vowing to find a wife in the stews, the Lord Chief Justice enters, looking for Falstaff. Falstaff at first feigns deafness in order to avoid conversing with him, as the Chief Justice attempts to question Falstaff about a recent robbery, Falstaff insists on turning the subject of the conversation to the nature of the illness afflicting the King. He then adopts the pretense of being a younger man than the Chief Justice. Finally, he asks the Chief Justice for one thousand pounds to help outfit a military expedition and he has a relationship with Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute, who gets into a fight with Ancient Pistol, Falstaffs ensign. After Falstaff ejects Pistol, Doll asks him about the Prince, Falstaff is embarrassed when his derogatory remarks are overheard by Hal, who is present disguised as a musician. Falstaff tries to talk his way out of it, but Hal is unconvinced, when news of a second rebellion arrives, Falstaff joins the army again, and goes to the country to raise forces. There he encounters an old friend, Justice Shallow. Shallow brings forward potential recruits for the loyalist army, Mouldy, Bullcalf, Feeble, Shadow and Wart, Falstaff and his cronies accept bribes from two of them, Mouldy and Bullcalf, not to be conscripted. In the other storyline, Hal remains an acquaintance of London lowlife and his father, King Henry IV is again disappointed in the young prince because of that, despite reassurances from the court. Another rebellion is launched against Henry IV, but this time it is defeated, not by a battle, King Henry then sickens and appears to die

Henry IV, Part 2
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The first page of Henry the Fourth, Part II, printed in the First Folio of 1623
Henry IV, Part 2
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Falstaff with Doll Tearsheet in the Boar's Head tavern, illustration to Act 2, Scene 4 of the play by Eduard von Grützner
Henry IV, Part 2
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Falstaff rebuked, Robert Smirke, c. 1795
Henry IV, Part 2
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The 1587 edition of Holinshed 's Chronicles

133.
Henry V (play)
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Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1599. It tells the story of King Henry V of England, focusing on events immediately before, in the First Quarto text, it was entitled The Cronicle History of Henry the fift, which became The Life of Henry the Fifth in the First Folio text. The play is the part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1. In Henry V, the prince has become a mature man. Elizabethan stages did not use scenery, acknowledging the difficulty of conveying great battles and shifts of location on a bare stage, the Chorus calls for a Muse of fire so that the actor playing King Henry can ssume the port of Mars. He asks, Can this cockpit hold / The vasty fields of France, and encourages the audience to use their imaginary forces to overcome the stages limitations, Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts. The early scenes deal with the embarkation of Henrys fleet for France, when the Chorus reappears, he describes the countrys dedication to the war effort – They sell the pasture now to buy the horse. The chorus tells the audience, Well not offend one stomach with our play, at the siege of Harfleur, Henry utters one of Shakespeares best-known speeches, beginning Once more unto the breach, dear friends. He agonizes about the burden of being king, noting that a king is only a man. Before the battle, Henry rallies his troops with the famous St Crispins Day Speech, referring to we few, we happy few, following the victory at Agincourt, Henry attempts to woo the French princess, Catherine of Valois. This is difficult because neither speaks the language well. As with all of Shakespeares serious plays, also a number of comic characters appear whose activities contrast with. In this case, they are mostly common soldiers in Henrys army, and they include Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph from the Henry IV plays. The army also includes a Scot, an Irishman, and an Englishman, and Fluellen, the play also deals briefly with the death of Falstaff, Henrys estranged friend from the Henry IV plays, whom Henry had rejected at the end of Henry IV, Part 2. An earlier play, the Famous Victories of Henry V is also believed to have been a model for the work. On the basis of an apparent allusion to Essexs mission to quell Tyrones Rebellion, Q1 of Henry V is a bad quarto, a shortened version of the play that might be an infringing copy or reported text. A second quarto, a reprint of Q1, was published in 1602 by Pavier, another reprint was issued as Q3 in 1619, the superior text first was printed in the First Folio in 1623. Readers and audiences have interpreted the play’s attitude to warfare in several different ways, on the one hand, it seems to celebrate Henrys invasion of France and valorises military might

134.
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
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Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and a descendant of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, Henry Percy was originally a follower of Edward III of England, for whom he held high offices in the administration of northern England. At a young age he was made Warden of the Marches towards Scotland in 1362, in February 1367 he was entrusted with the supervision of all castles and fortified places in the Scottish marches. He went on to support King Richard II and was created an Earl, after Richard elevated his rival Ralph Neville to the position of Earl of Westmorland in 1397, Percy supported the rebellion of Henry Bolingbroke, who became King as Henry IV. On King Henry IVs coronation he was appointed Constable of England, in 1403 the Percys turned against Henry IV in favour of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, and then conspired with Owain Glyndŵr against King Henry. The Tripartite Indenture was signed by all three parties, which divided England up between them, the Mortimers were to have received the rest of southern England, below the river Trent. The Percy rebellion failed at the Battle of Shrewsbury, where Hotspur was killed, since the earl did not directly participate in the rebellion, he was not convicted of treason. However, he lost his office as Constable, in 1405 Percy supported Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York, in another rebellion, after which Percy fled to Scotland, and his estates were confiscated by the king. In 1408 Percy invaded England in rebellion once more and was killed at the Battle of Bramham Moor, Percys severed head was subsequently put on display at London Bridge. In 1358, he married Margaret Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby and they had four sons and one daughter. Northumberland is a character in Shakespeares Richard II, Henry IV, part 1. The other novels in the trilogy, Lion Dormant and Lion Invincible tell the story of his other descendants and their role in the English War of the Roses. Henry Percy and his son Hotspur are also characters in Edith Pargeters novel. He is a character in My Lord John by Georgette Heyer. Alnwick Castle, the home of the Percy family, was featured in the Harry Potter movies as the location of Hogwarts. Rymer, Thomas Foedera, The Hague,1739 Beltz, G. F. Memorials of the most noble Order of the Garter, from its foundation to the present time London 1841 Doyle, J. W. Rose, phoenix/Orion Books Ltd,2002, ISBN 1-84212-485-4

135.
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York
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Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, KG, was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, by his first wife Isabella of Castile, and the grandson of King Edward III. He held significant appointments during the reigns of the monarchs Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V and he was slain at the Battle of Agincourt, one of the principal military engagements of the Hundred Years War against France, in 1415. Edward of Langley was born c and he had a sister Constance and a younger brother Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge. According to G. E. Edward was knighted at the coronation of his cousin, King Richard II, on 16 July 1377 and he was close to the king throughout his life, and benefited even in his youth from numerous royal grants and appointments. On 25 February 1390, the king created him Earl of Rutland, in 1392, he became a member of King Richards council, and was with the king during a campaign in Ireland in 1394-5. Prior to that, although no patent has been found, he was created Earl of Cork and he used the styles of Rutland and Cork throughout the remainder of his life. On 11 July 1397, Richard II arrested his uncle Thomas of Woodstock, Rutland was later accused of having sent his servants to assist in Gloucesters subsequent murder at Calais, an allegation he denied. However, on 28 September 1397, he received a grant of Gloucester, Warwick. On 29 September, he was created Duke of Aumale, a title that had earlier granted to Gloucester on 3 September 1385. Additional royal grants followed during the years of King Richards reign. On 10 February 1398 Aumale was appointed Warden of the West March, in May 1399, Edward accompanied King Richard to Ireland, and in the kings absence, Henry Bolingbroke landed towards the end of June near Ravenspur, Yorkshire, with a small band of exiles. King Richards fatal decision to divide his army still in Ireland has been attributed to advice from Edward. The king sent some of his troops ahead to North Wales under the command of the Earl of Salisbury, news of the strength of Bolingbrokes army then caused the king to desert the troops with him and travel to North Wales in an attempt to join Salisbury. However Salisburys troops, having heard rumours of the death, had dispersed. Although he could have made his escape by sea, the king ensnared himself in negotiations with Bolingbroke, Edward speedily deserted to Bolingbroke as well and was reportedly wearing Bolingbrokes livery when he was among those sent by Bolingbroke to the king at Flint Castle. In response to public animosity towards King Richards closest associates, Henry IV deprived Edward of his office of Constable of the Tower on 31 August 1399, shortly after his accession. On 20 October 1399, he was imprisoned at Windsor Castle, and on 3 November deprived of the dukedom of Aumale, Edwards period of disfavour was not long-lasting, however. The king confirmed him in his offices in connection with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight, but according to James Tait, contemporary English sources that describe the conspiracy make no mention of Edward, and his role in it is open to question

Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York
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Edward of Norwich
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York
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Monument to Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, erected by Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) in Fotheringhay Church

136.
Henry Percy (Hotspur)
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Sir Henry Percy KG, commonly known as Sir Harry Hotspur, or simply Hotspur, was a late-medieval English nobleman. He was a significant captain during the Anglo-Scottish wars and he later led successive rebellions against Henry IV of England and was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 at the height of his career. He was knighted by King Edward III in April 1377, together with the future Kings Richard II, in 1380, he was in Ireland with the Earl of March, and in 1383, he travelled in Prussia. He was appointed warden of the east march either on 30 July 1384 or in May 1385, as a tribute to his speed in advance and readiness to attack on the Scottish borders, the Scots bestowed on him the name Haatspore. In April 1386, he was sent to France to reinforce the garrison at Calais, between August and October 1387, he was in command of a naval force in an attempt to relieve the siege of Brest. In appreciation of these endeavours he was made a Knight of the Garter in 1388. During the next few years Percys reputation continued to grow and he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cyprus in June 1393 and appointed Governor of Bordeaux, deputy to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, in the Duchy of Aquitaine. He returned to England in January 1395, taking part in Richard IIs expedition to Ireland, in the summer of 1396, he was again in Calais. On Henrys return from exile in June 1399, Percy and his father joined his forces at Doncaster, after King Richards deposition, Percy and his father were lavishly rewarded with lands and offices. Under the new king, Percy had extensive civil and military responsibility in both the east march towards Scotland and in north Wales, where he was appointed High Sheriff of Flintshire in 1399. In north Wales, he was increasing pressure as a result of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr. Among others, they made a prisoner of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, in spite of the favour that Henry IV showed the Percys in many respects, they became increasingly discontented with him. Spurred on by these grievances, the Percys rebelled in the summer of 1403, according to J. M. W. Bean, it is clear that the Percys were in collusion with Glyndŵr. On his return to England shortly after the victory at Homildon Hill, joined by his uncle, Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, he marched to Shrewsbury, where he intended to do battle against a force there under the command of the Prince of Wales. The ensuing Battle of Shrewsbury was fierce, with casualties on both sides, but when Henry Percy himself was struck down and killed, his own forces fled. The circumstances of Percys death differ in accounts, the chronicler Thomas Walsingham stated, in his Historia Anglicana, that while he led his men in the fight rashly penetrating the enemy host, was unexpectedly cut down, by whose hand is not known. Another is that he was struck in the face by an arrow when he opened his vizor for a better view, the legend that he was killed by the Prince of Wales seems to have been given currency by William Shakespeare, writing at the end of the following century. The Earl of Worcester was executed two days later, King Henry, upon being brought Percys body after the battle, is said to have wept

137.
Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York
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Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York was the daughter of King Peter and his mistress María de Padilla. She accompanied her sister, Constance, to England after Constances marriage to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Isabella was the youngest of the three daughters of King Peter of Castile by his mistress, María de Padilla. According to Pugh, Isabella and Edmund of Langley were an ill-matched pair, according to Pugh, the possibility that Holland was the father of Isabellas favourite son, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, cannot be ignored. In her will Isabel named King Richard as her heir, requesting him to grant her son, Richard. Isabella died 23 December 1392, aged about 37, and was buried 14 January 1393 at the church of the Dominicans at Kings Langley. After Isabellas death, Edmund of Langley married Joan Holland, sister and co-heir of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, with whom his daughter, Isabella was appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1379. Edward served in administrative offices and military campaigns during the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. Constance was involved in a plot to abduct the young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, in February 1405, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, who married Anne Mortimer, and was beheaded on 5 August 1415 for his role in the Southampton Plot. Isabella is depicted, ahistorically, as living in late December 1399 at the time of the Epiphany Rising in Act V of Shakespeares Richard II, the Complete Peerage, edited by Geoffrey H. White. Harriss, G. L. Richard, earl of Cambridge, Pugh, T. B. Henry V and the Southampton Plot of 1415. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, britains Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. Date accessed,21 October 2012 Liss, Peggy K. Isabel the Queen, New York, reston, James, Dogs of God, New York, Doubleday,2005

Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York
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Isabella of Castile

138.
Eleanor de Bohun
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Lady Eleanor de Bohun was the elder daughter and co-heiress with her sister, Mary de Bohun, of their father Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford. Her mother was Lady Joan Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, in 1376, she married Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester. Thomas was the youngest son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, following their marriage, the couple went to reside in Pleshey Castle, Essex. Eleanor and her husband had the tutelage of her sister, Mary. This was being done in the hope that she would enter a convent, thus leaving her share of the considerable Bohun inheritance to Eleanor and her son by 3rd marriage, John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners, was grandfather of Richard Neville, 2nd Baron Latimer of Snape. Richards granddaughter, Anne Dawney, was ancestress of Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the USA Joan married Gilbert Talbot, isabel Philippa Died young Eleanor de Bohun was invested as a Lady Companion, Order of the Garter in 1384. She became a nun sometime after 1397 at Barking Abbey and she died on 3 October 1399 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Eleanor appears briefly in Anya Setons historical romance Katherine, based upon the life of Eleanors sister-in-law Katherine Swynford and she also appears in Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeares Richard II, where she unsuccessfully urges John of Gaunt to avenge her murdered husband. Eleanor of Bohun at Tudor Place

Eleanor de Bohun
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Arms of Bohun: Azure, a bend argent cotised or between six lions rampant or.

139.
Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk
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Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English peer. As a result of his involvement in the struggles which led up to the fall of Richard II. He had a brother, John de Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham. In April 1372, custody of both Thomas and his brother, John, was granted to Blanche Wake, a sister of their grandmother. On 10 February 1383, he succeeded his brother, John Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham, as Baron Mowbray and Segrave. On 30 June 1385 he was created Earl Marshal for life and he fought against the Scots and then against the French. He was appointed Warden of the East March towards Scotland in 1389 and he was one of the Lords Appellant to King Richard II who deposed some of the Kings court favourites in 1387. In gratitude, on 29 September 1397, the king created him Duke of Norfolk, in 1398, Norfolk quarreled with Henry of Bolingbroke, 1st Duke of Hereford, apparently due to mutual suspicions stemming from their roles in the conspiracy against the Duke of Gloucester. Before a duel between them could take place, Richard II banished them both, Mowbray left England on 19 October 1398. While in exile, he succeeded as Earl of Norfolk when his grandmother, Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk and he died of the plague at Venice on 22 September 1399. The traditional, and historic arms for the Mowbray family are Gules, although it is certain that these arms are differenced by various devices, this primary blazon applies to all the family arms, including their peerages at Norfolk. They are never indicated to bear the arms of Thomas Brotherton, crest—A leopard or, ducally gorged ar. granted by patent to the first duke,17 Richard II. John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, elizabeth Mowbray, who married Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk. Margaret Mowbray, who married firstly Sir Robert Howard, by whom she was the mother of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, isabel Mowbray, married firstly Sir Henry Ferrers, son of 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby, and secondly James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley. Mowbrays quarrel with Bolingbroke and subsequent banishment are depicted in the scene of Shakespeares Richard II. Thomas Mowbray prophetically replies to King Richards Lions make leopards tame with the retort, Yea, mowbrays death in exile is announced later in the play by the Bishop of Carlisle. Dukes of Norfolk family tree Cokayne, George Edward, the Complete Peerage, edited by H. A. Doubleday and Lord Howard de Walden. Everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, everingham, Kimball G. ed. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families

Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk
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Depiction of Mowbray, Arundel, Gloucester, Derby and Warwick demanding of Richard II that he let them prove by arms the justice of their rebellion
Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk
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Arms of Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk

140.
Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey
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Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, 3rd Earl of Kent, 4th Baron Holland, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman. He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Kent and Lady Alice FitzAlan and his maternal grandparents were the 10th Earl of Arundel and Lady Eleanor of Lancaster. He was also a nephew of King Richard II, and a Knight of the Garter, on his fathers death in 1397 he succeeded him as 3rd Earl of Kent and 4th Baron Holland. At that time Kents uncle King Richard II was removing the Duke of Gloucester and his associates from power, and sent Kent to arrest his own uncle, in reward he received a share of the forfeited estates, and on 29 September 1397 was created Duke of Surrey. Another uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon, was created Duke of Exeter on that day as well, Surrey, along with many of King Richard IIs advisors, was arrested after the Kings deposition by King Henry IV in 1399. In the end he had to forfeit the honours and estates he had gained after the arrests of Gloucester and Arundel, in particular the Dukedom of Surrey, although he retained the Earldom of Kent. Early in 1400, Kent, along with his uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon, plotted to kill King Henry IV and free King Richard II from prison and this Epiphany Rising failed and Kent was captured and executed. He left no children by his wife, Lady Joan Stafford and he was succeeded as Earl of Kent by his brother Edmund

141.
William de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros
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William de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was Lord Treasurer of England. He was born in Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire, England to parents, Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros and Beatrice Stafford, daughter of Ralph Stafford and he was also a younger brother of John de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros. His older brother died without issue in Paphos, Cyprus during 1394, William was already a Knight and inherited the rank and privileges of his deceased brother. He was first summoned to the Parliament of England on November 20 of the same year and he would regularly attend sessions till 1413. Richard favored William with a position in his Privy council, in 1396, William accompanied the King to Calais for his marriage to his second Queen consort Isabella of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. When Henry of Bolingbroke started his revolt against Richard II, William was among the first to support him and he was present for the abdication of Richard II and the declaration of Henry IV as the new King. He retained his position in the Privy council for the rest of his life and he seems to have been a special favourite with the first monarch of the House of Lancaster and was employed him in various civil affairs of great importance. He served as Lord Treasurer of England from 1403 to 1404 and he was created a Knight of the Garter in 1403 along with Edmund de Holand, 4th Earl of Kent and Richard Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Codnor. William was in charge of investigating the activities of Lollards in Derbyshire, Middlesex, Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros. Sir Robert de Ros, who married Anne Halsham, Margaret De Ros, who married James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley about 1415. Elizabeth de Ros, who married Robert de Morley, 6th Baron Morley, the Complete Peerage, edited by Geoffrey H. White. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. ISBN 144996639X The Magna Charta Sureties,1215, by Frederick Lewis Weis, Th. D. with Additions and Corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. M. S. with William R. Beall. Fifth Edition, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc, line 121-9, Margaret de Arundel, dau. gen. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, created by Frederick Lewis Weis, Continued by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. Edited with Additions and Corrections by William R. Beall and Kaleen E. Beall. Eighth Edition, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc, line 121-9, Margaret de Arundel, dau. gen

William de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros
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Arms of Sir William de Ros, 6th Baron Ros, KG: Gules, three water bougets argent

142.
John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
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John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury and 5th and 2nd Baron Montagu, KG was an English nobleman, one of the few who remained loyal to Richard II after Henry IV became king. He was the son of Sir John de Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu and his father was the younger brother of William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. His mother was the daughter of Thomas de Monthermer, 2nd Baron de Monthermer, and Margaret Teyes and granddaughter, and heiress, of Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, and Joan of Acre. As a young man, Montagu distinguished himself in the war with France, Bolingbroke was to entrust his young son and heir, later Henry V, to the care of Sir John and his wife Maud following the death of his wife Mary de Bohun. Lady Salisbury cared for the boy at a Montagu house in Welsh Bicknor near Monmouth until her death in 1395. He was summoned to parliament in 1391 as Baron Montagu, Montagu was a favorite of the King during the early years of the reign of Richard II. He accompanied the King during his expeditions to Ireland in 1394 and 1395 and, during the trips to France associated with the marriage, he met and encouraged Christine de Pisan, whose son was educated in the Montagu household. Montagu was a prominent Lollard, and was remonstrated by the king for this, with the death of his mother around this time, John inherited the barony of Monthermer and its estates. In 1397, he became Earl of Salisbury, on the death of his uncle and he continued as one of the major aristocratic allies of King Richard II, helping to secure the fall of the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Warwick. He persuaded the king to spare the life of Warwick and he received a portion of the forfeited Warwick estates and, in 1399, was made a Knight of the Garter. Early in 1399, he went to France on a mission to prevent the proposed marriage of Henry Bolingbroke. In May, he again accompanied Richard II on an expedition to Ireland, when news reached them of that Bolingbroke had returned to England, Montagu was sent to Wales to raise opposing forces. When these deserted, Montagu advised King Richard to flee to Bordeaux, instead Richard was imprisoned, Henry took the throne and, in October, Montagu was arrested along with many of Richards former councillors, and held in the Tower of London. Their descendants include Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Catherine Parr, Thomas married secondly, Alice Chaucer by whom he had no issue. Robert Montecute, married Mary deDevon Richard Montagu, never married, died d. s. p, other sources suggest he had a son, Edward Montagu, with Eleanor de Holand. Anne Montagu, who married firstly Sir Richard Hankford of Annery, Monkleigh in Devon, feudal baron of Bampton in Devon. After the death of Sir Richard, Anne married secondly Sir John FitzLewis by whom she had further issue, Margaret Montagu, married William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby, no issue. Elizabeth Montagu, married Robert Willoughby, 6th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, they had one daughter, Joan, Montagu had to answer charges related to the arrest and subsequent death of the Duke of Gloucester in 1397

143.
Falstaff
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Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, he is a companion to Prince Hal, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, he is the buffoonish suitor of two married women. Though primarily a figure, Falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to Shakespeares major characters. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, he spends most of his time drinking at the Boars Head Inn with petty criminals, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king. Falstaff has since appeared in media, notably in operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Otto Nicolai. The operas focus on his role in The Merry Wives of Windsor, while the film adapts from the Henriad, Welles, who played Falstaff in his film, considered the character to be Shakespeares greatest creation. Falstaff appears in three of Shakespeares plays, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and his death is mentioned in Henry V but he has no lines, nor is it directed that he appear on stage. However, many stage and film adaptations have seen it necessary to include Falstaff for the insight he provides into King Henry Vs character. The most notable examples in cinema are Laurence Oliviers 1944 version and Kenneth Branaghs 1989 film, the character is known to have been very popular with audiences at the time, and for many years afterwards. According to Leonard Digges, writing shortly after Shakespeares death, while many plays could not get good audiences, but let Falstaff come, Hal, Poins, adding to King Henrys troubles is the behaviour of his son and heir, the Prince of Wales. Hal has forsaken the Royal Court to waste his time in taverns with low companions and this makes him an object of scorn to the nobles and calls into question his royal worthiness. Hals chief friend and foil in living the low life is Sir John Falstaff, fat, old, drunk, and corrupt as he is, he has a charisma and a zest for life that captivates the Prince. The play features three groups of characters that interact slightly at first, and then together in the Battle of Shrewsbury. First there is King Henry himself and his immediate council and he is the engine of the play, but usually in the background. Next there is the group of rebels, energetically embodied in Henry Percy and including his father, the Scottish Earl of Douglas, Edmund Mortimer and the Welshman Owen Glendower also join. Finally, at the centre of the play are the young Prince Hal and his companions Falstaff, Poins, Bardolph, streetwise and pound-foolish, these rogues manage to paint over this grim history in the colours of comedy. Meanwhile, Henrys son Hal is joking, drinking, and thieving with Falstaff and he likes Falstaff but makes no pretense at being like him. Hal believes that this change of manner will amount to a greater reward and acknowledgment of prince-ship

144.
Ned Poins
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Edward Ned Poins, generally referred to as Poins, is a fictional character who appears in two plays by Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. He is also mentioned in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Poins is Prince Hals closest friend during his wild youth. He devises various schemes to ridicule Falstaff, his rival for Hals affections, unlike Hals other principal low-life associates, who all reappear in Henry V, Poins disappears from the narrative with no explanation. Poins appears early in Henry IV, Part I to inform Falstaff that at Gads Hill there will be unprotected pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings and he suggests that they organise a robbery. When Falstaff and the others agree, Poins says to Hal that the pair of them should play trick on Falstaff by letting them rob the travellers, the point of the jest will be to hear the incomprensible lies Falstaff will tell to excuse himself. When they surprise Falstaff, he and his followers instantly run away, Poins is with Hal when Hal plays a joke on Francis, a drawer at the Boars Head. He also listens to Falstaffs increasingly ridiculous lies, in Part 2 Poins discusses the illness of Hals father the king, expecting Hal to be pleased at the prospect of his fathers death. Hal gets a letter from Falstaff, in which Falstaff tells him not to trust Poins because he has been telling people that Hal will be marrying Poins sister Nell, bardolph and a boy arrive with news that Falstaff is metting Doll Tearsheet at the tavern. Poins suggests that they disguise themselves again, this time as waiters, at the tavern, Doll asks why Hal likes Poins, Falstaff says that they are both similar in size and shape, and equally empty headed, His wit’s as thick as Tewkesbury mustard. There’s no more conceit in him than is in a mallet, Poins principal role is to act as Hals confidant. In Part 2 especially he is more than a sounding board for Hals views. In Part 1 he is presented as the more assertive of the two, being the mastermind of both the Gads Hill robbery and its comeuppance. In this respect Poins is a figure, who is both part of the criminal underworld and also of the superior social world that looks down on it. He represents wayward tendencies within the class, closely linked to Hals own behaviour. He is effectively a side of Hal himself. Throughout both plays the tension between Poins and Falstaff beneath the apparent bonhomie represents their competition for Hals favour and each ones willingness to undermine the other. However, while Poins accusations against Falstaff are proven correct, it is never clear whether Falstaffs accusation about Poins sister is true or a lie. Poins ambiguous role is implied by the reference to him in The Merry Wives of Windsor, in which Anne Pages suitor Fenton is said to have been a companion of the wild Prince